Namigakure
by bcsclaymore
Summary: Always the disgrace, always seen as nonexistent to others and it all started when his sister became the Kyuubi jinchuriki of the Yin, while he the Yang. Naruto will show how wrong everyone was about him, and he knows just how to do it. FIRST STORY, ADOPTED FROM RONNY214
1. So it begins

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OF DRAGON BALL Z

Chapter 1: It begins

_**Konohagakure Night time**_

The village hidden in the leaves, founded by the Senju, the Uchiha and the Uzumaki clans' respective leaders, its known to produce some of the strongest ninja's of the world, Senju Tobirama, Senju Hirashima, Uchiha Madara, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo Shimura, Sakumo Hatake, Jiriaya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, Uchiha Itachi, and Namikaze Minato. While the village after the third ninja wars is enjoying a peaceful night, one Minato Namikaze is holding on for his dear life from threat only men can face and anyone that would be hearing his screams would be praying for his life because they know what he is going through.

_In a hidden cave north from the village_

"MINATO NAMIKAZE IF I GET THROUGH THIS ALIVE, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU FOR PUTTING ME THRIUGH THIS MESS WHEN I RECOVERRRRRRRRRR AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH" screams a very frustrated Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze as she's giving birth to her twin children while squeezing Minato's hand.

"Take it easy Kushina, I'm here for you; you just need to calm down and take deep breaths and push the baby out" Minato soothed his wife ignoring the crushing of his hand by his wife by screaming on the inside as Jiraiya stands behind Minato trying and failing from keeping the smile on his face

"Minato, WILL YOU SHUT UP, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TROUGH NOW, JUST SHUT UP" screamed Kushina.

"Congratulations, ma'am here is your children" said Tsunade tending to Kushina

"Look Minato, aren't they beautiful" replies a very tired Kushina

"Not as beautiful as you look right now" says a very proud Minato

"Congrats gaki on both the resistance from an angry Kushina and the mini brats but what's up with Naruto, his hair has black strips and is a lot spikier and is – is that a tail?" Jiraiya asks as he notices some odd things about Naruto and as he reaches over to pull it, the baby starts crying.

"Jiraiya, let go of my sons tail or I will kill you where you stand!" exclaimed Kushina, after which Jiraiya quickly let go and the wailing stopped and she hands the children to Tsunade

An ANBU appears in the cave "Hokage-sama the council wishes to see you on recent developments" as he says this, he motions to the twins and Kushina and Kushina scowls as she notices this

"How in the nine hells did they know you just gave birth Kushina?" asks Tsunade

"I don't know but I'm going to find out right now" says Minato but as he is about to leave, a masked man appeared, in the room and shushined out with Kushina, but nobody does anything as the shock of some enemy finding out of the place freezes Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Minato but soon snap out of their daze and rush to find Kushina once they heard the roar of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and assumed the worst for Kushina.

A few moments before with Kushina and the Masked Man…

"Why are you doing this?" Kushina cried.

"This world has become nothing a hate infested hell, so I'm going to remove it from existence." The masked man replied. "To do this, I'm going to need power, so Kyuubi come on out of there." At this point, the masked man and Kushina make eye contact and she notices that this masked assailant possesses the Sharingan. The kyuubi's chakra completely surrounds her, and then she feels the pain of having the fox ripped from her body.

Weakened after the forced extraction, Kushina tries to stall for help, "W-W-Wait!" and masked man directs his attention to her after placing the fox under his illusion.

"Amazing… You Uzumaki are really something, to be able to survive the Kyuubi ripped from you…" then turning his attention back to the fox he commands it, "Now, Kyuubi, since you free of your prison, why don't you destroy it so you never have to go back there again" and the Kyuubi happily obliges by striking its claw at Kushina only to roar when he didn't feel the resulting gush under its paw.

In a yellow flash, Minato saved Kushina from instant death and said,"Kushina, I'm taking you some where safe for now okay?" Kushina just nods her head weakly on his shirt, while murmuring thanks to and with another flash, they leave the not so hidden cave. Minato then reappears and confronts the villain "Who are you? Why are you doing this? Tell me!"

"Hmm… well since you asked so _nicely_… I don't think so", replies the masked man.

Minato's eyes narrowed in annoyance and anger at the reply and responded, "Fine! Then I'll just beat it out of you!" After that Minato let loose one of his special kunai, but was shocked to see the kunai phasing right through his opponent.

'What the hell' Minato thought in surprise.

The masked man suddenly warps to minato's location, and Minato feels distortion right in front of him and threw a kunai in a different direction in order to analyze his opponents' technique.

Just as minato appears where his kunai was thrown, a warp suddenly appears out of nowhere and reveals the masked man. 'Damn! It appears that he has even better capabilities in time-space ninjutsu that me. It's going to come down to whose attack is faster' Thought Minato.

"Let's end this now", spoke Minato.

"Couldn't agree more", replied the masked man.

As they charged each other, Minato threw another kunai and readied a head-sized Rasengan. The kunai once again phased through the masked man. The masked man was getting ready to grab Minato to end it all he thought 'Victory is MI…', but he felt a Rasengan attacking him from behind unexpectedly.

"GUAH!", he screamed in pain and was on his knees. As the assailant was getting up, Minato suddenly appeared before him with a kunai in hand.

'How did he get right next to me!' thought the man in fright.

**Flashback no Jutsu**

_As the Rasengan exploded upon contact, Minato took his chance and marked the masked man with the Hiraishin formula._

**Kai**

"Heh… so now what you going to try to take Kyuubi away from me", said the masked man.

"No, I've already done so through a contract break seal that I placed on you", said Minato.

"Grrrr! Fourth! You may have beaten me today, but I swear that I will always get what I want, one way or another!" With that the masked man warps away, leaving Minato to deal with freshly exorcised and very angry Kyuubi. Minato quickly teleports to his wife's' location, then to his children's' location to make his family whole.

Minato takes Kushina to their children as Sarutobi takes his place in battle and Minato makes a decision that will change not only his life, but the lives of his family

"Kushina I'm going to have to use the dead demon seal on Naruto and Naomi, I'll seal the yin Chakra in Naomi because she's a girl and we can train her early so that she can control the foxes Chakra like you did while ill seal the foxes yang Chakra into Naruto and we don't need to train him because the yang Is less tamable than the yin but I'm sure that if Naruto inherited your never give up he will out will the hatred of the yang and control the yang part"

"What are you talking about, these are MY CHILDREN Minato, I won't let you turn them into a jinchiruki so that in the end, they can receive the abuse of the villagers. I won't let you" shouted a very rebellious Kushina while she snatched HER children from Tsunade, how they can sleep peaceful through all this noise is beyond me was the thought of one very shocked Tsunade after she heard the plan. Also listening to the plan was one Sarutobi Hiruzen who left Jiraiya to fight the fox made a slight alteration to that plan when he said

"Minato, you're still young, in charge and you just had children while I'm getting old and past my prime, the village will need someone as strong and independent as you, not a withering deceitful old fool, I'll do the sealing while you and Kushina remain with the children and have the village see them as heroes. Now I must go join my wife in the afterlife" said Sarutobi, but Kushina still insists

"No, you will not turn them into jinchiruki while I'm still conscious, I won't let you"

"Kushina, he has to, to be able to protect the village and its ones duty as Hokage to protect his village, the same village that I want my kids to grow in with their parents watching over them" replies Minato then he stops as he notices Kushina calm down

"All right Minato, but I still don't like it, if anything goes bad, I blame you" says Kushina as exhaustion takes over her. Minato grimly takes both children in his arms and appears next to Hiruzen who teleports both of them to the battle field where their shinobi are fighting against the fox, Jiraiya while fighting notices them and asks

"Sensei, Minato, what's going on, what are you doing here, shouldn't you be with Kushina?" then he notices the children in Minato's hands and comes to a conclusion on what's happening then he looks at Minato with a serious face who nods then asks "who's gonna do it?"

"The third Hokage, at first it was me that was going to do it but then I realized I have a family to look after and Sarutobi offered his help" Minato replied solemnly and Jiraiya looks over to his sensei to ask for his opinion which he got by a nod of the head and his sensei's words

"Jiraiya, please distract the fox while I summon the Shinigami over to this realm as Minato prepares his children for this sacrifice"

"hai sensei" as that was said, Hiruzen went through hand signs for that jutsu and as he was done, the Shinigami appeared and with its intimidating figure he spoke

_"What is your reason for summoning me ningen, I have paperwork to finish and souls to torture"_

"Shinigami-sama I am Sarutobi Hiruzen of the leaf village and I ask for your help in sealing the foxes yin Chakra in to the girl and its yang Chakra into the boy thus making them respective jinchiruki of the leaf village" spoke a very intimidated Hiruzen and as he said this, the Shinigami formally known as King Yama, looks at Naruto, notices he looks very familiar

'_Hmmm, what's this? He looks just like Goku and his tail further confirms my claim, and what's that, a dormant yet strong when unleashed Saiyan blood? I'll help him there'_ with that thought, his eyes glowed behind his mask and he made Naruto's Saiyan blood dominant among the Uzumaki and Namikaze blood so he will be a full Saiyan with his parents DNA in his genetic reading '_There, that should do it, now when the time comes, I'll allow Goku permission to stay in the boy's mind to train him till the age of fifteen, now onto the main reason I was summoned'_

_**"You know the cost of one summoning me for the task, are you ready to make payment with the intended price?"**_ asked the Shinigami as he drew his knife from his mouth

"Yes I do, and I am willing to give my life for the exchange" replied Hiruzen

_**"Then it shall be done"**_**,** he said as he cornered the fox and separated the yin and yang Chakra, sealed t in their hosts respectively and after that was done, he took Hiruzen's life.

"*cough* *cough* Minato, I know you will make a good kage for the village, *cough* *weeze* do anything you must *cough* to protect it as a proud kage would" and with that, his life ended.

"Of course, sandaime I would do as you ask, as respect to your dying wish and protect the village with the best of my ability" said Minato with his children back in his hands. Then he looked over at Naomi and said "I'll do everything I can to make the people of this village happy and I'll start training Naomi to be strong enough to handle the foxes' Chakra at the age of three and make sure she's strong enough to protect herself and the world because I know for sure that she is the prophesized child" and he remembered how he knew about the prophecy

_**Flashback no Jutsu**_

_"Minato, the toads told me a prophecy some time ago about a warrior of pure heart and fueled by rage shall be born of two powerful ninja, and shall bring peace to the world or utterly destroy it; and from what I've noticed it could be one of the children that Kushina is about to give birth to" Jiraiya says_

_Minato asks" If you're sure, then which one, Naruto or Naomi? I should be sure so that I can start their training early"_

_Jiraiya replies,"I think Naomi would be the child of the prophecy because she will have both yours and Kushina's chakra in her and the Kyuubi no Yokos' yin sealed in her as well."_

_"Hmm, that makes perfect sense, but I won't let Kushina know about it.", Minato replies_

_"It would be our little secret" says Jiraiya with a bug grin, as Minato grins as well_

_**Kai**_

And with that thought, he left to Kushina reporting the news wondering what happened to the masked man and why he attacked konoha in the first place.

**Five years later**

It is the fifth anniversary of the Kyuubi's attack and defeat at the hands of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. There is a festival to commence this great event that is usually held the night of the date, and everyone is extremely happy on this day, well almost everyone.

The soul that was unhappy on this day was none other than Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, firstborn of the Fourth Hokage and the Red Death. He has midnight black, spiky hair and a monkey tail swirling behind him. As to why he is unhappy at this moment, naruto is currently alone in his room, while his parents are training his sister to be a ninja.

It all started two years ago…

**Flashback no Jutsu**

_Just as Minato said, he along with Kushina started training Naomi in the family ninja arts at three years old. Naruto was ecstatic; He, along with his sister, would finally start to learn about cool ninja tricks from their parents._

"_Hi Tou-chan, I'm ready to start learning how to be a ninja", shouted a hyper-active black haired boy._

"_Sorry, Naruto, but your mother and I need to train your sister because of a very important circumstance." _

"_B-B-But Tou-chan, I wanna learn how to be a cool ninja like you and Kaa-chan" Naruto begins to beg desperately "Please, I'll do any and everything you ask, and I wanna ma-"_

"_NARUTO!Llisten to your father, if he says we need to train your sister first, then you will obey that wish!" _

"_Yes, Kaa-chan", replied the depressed black haired boy. With that, Naruto decided to go to his room in the hopes that maybe his parents will reconsider over the next day or so. _

_Unfortunately for Naruto, his parents had given him the same answer they had given him the first time he asked about training a few days later._

_Naruto, then, decided to train in secret so he wouldn't fall behind his sister._

_He was currently working on his taijutsu when someone made their presence known to the saiyan. _

"_Hello, Naruto-sama" "What are you doing out here all alone? I would've thought that you would be with our family?" Naruto then got a depressed aura around him _

"_Oh, hi Itachi, Tou-chan and Kaa-chan are busy training Naomi-nee-chan" Naruto replies to the now revealed Itachi._

"_Really? Without you?" ,replied a surprised Itachi._

_Naruto suddenly picked himself up, loudly proclaiming, "It's alright, and I'm still going to train so I don't fall behind Naomi-nee-chan."_

"_Hey, Naruto, if you're interested I could help you train when I'm availa-" Itachi didn't even get to complete his sentence when Naruto interrupted him._

"_Really?!" At Itachi's nod Naruto started to bounce all over the place in happiness. From that point on, Itachi trained with Naruto whenever he could._

**Kai**

Naruto had changed a lot since then; He practically stopped asking his parents for training, seeing as they told him no every single time.

It was tough for Naruto since he couldn't rely on his parents for help, especially when Naruto got interested in sealing not long after he started his training with Itachi. He had to 'borrow' the books from his father's study in order to learn the basics.

He was proud to say that after two years of study on sealing, Naruto was low chunin. He had high genin chakra reserves for his age, but it didn't really compare to his sister's low jonin reserves. Naomi would be a chakra powerhouse when she was older, especially with the training she was receiving from both their parents.

That thought had brought a frown to the boy's face. He wanted to know why his parents were training his sister and only his sister, which he thought was completely unfair. Naruto thought about this many times on his way home.

Home.

Was it really a home where your parents practically have nothing to do with you and spend all their time on a sibling? As he walked through door it was absolutely silent, his parents and sister were probably out in the family training grounds or out somewhere in the village having their 'family bonding' time.

Having completed his daily personal training he decided to go to bed early. He would have never suspected that what was going to happen tonight was going to change not only his life, but also the entire elemental nations.

Later that night

_In Naruto's Mindscape_

Naruto woke up in a dark, wet sewer. 'Where the hell am I?' Naruto thought. Naruto saw some huge structure off in the distance, and as he got closer to it the more apparent it became to him that it was a cage.

Naruto heard a malevolent chuckle coming from within the cage, and at the same time giant, red slitted eyes opened up and looked directly at him**. **

"**Heh heh heh… so, my container finally decides to come pay me a visit" a malevolent voice spoke** As Naruto listened to the voice, he could just barely make out a giant animal like figure with nine…tails?

He had no more time to look when a huge furry hand slammed down where he had been only a few seconds before**.**

"**INSOLENT LITTLE MONKEY! YOU SHOULD'VE LET ME, THE GREAT KYUUBI, END YOU RIGHT THERE. AT LEAST I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ESCAPE YOUR BODY AND RIP THE OTHER HALF OF MY CHAKRA THAT YOUR FATHER SEALED IN YOUR ACCURSED SISTER!"**

Naruto went wide-eyed hearing this. 'Was this why he had heard some of the villagers talking about demon's and foxes when he was in the area?' Because he had the kyuubi sealed in him? If so, why did his parents never tell him? Did his sister know?

Naruto wasn't able to think any more on the matter because he felt a cold death-like presence around him.

"_**That is quite enough of you, Kyuubi."**_ Shinigami, the Death God, faded into appearance _**"I believe I have a few things to discuss with the boy, so go back to sleep"**_ with that the Kyuubi suddenly went to sleep within his cage.

"Shinigami-sama, I truly do hope that you're not here to take my soul or anything like that." The shinigami just chuckles, although it sounds very eerie

"_**No, Naruto, I don't plan to take your soul… yet. I actually wanted to speak to you about learning what you are, and how to use your… unique abilities."**_

"I'm interested, but what's the catch? I doubt you would do this out of the goodness of your heart.", replied Naruto.

"_**Heh heh… You're very sharp Naruto. It's a shame that your parents have been so stuck on your sibling to notice your impressive potential, but you're right. I'm not doing this for nothing."**_

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the mention of his parents' favoritism with his sister.

"_**I want you to use your gifts, should you accept my offer, to hunt done a few people for me. These 'people' have each found their own versions of extending their own lives, which is something that goes against my design. Everything in life has and end and I **__**do not**__** like people playing with what that!**_

"Shinigami-sama, I humbly accept your most gracious offer" replied Naruto.

"_**Excellent Naruto, I look forward to what you will be capable of in the future, and now for my end of the bargain."**_ The shinigami snapped his fingers, and then there was an extremely bright light. As the light subsided, a man, around 5'9", with spiky, black hair like Naruto's started to appear.

"_**This man's name is Goku and he is your ancestor, but if you could call him anything it would be grandfather. Anyway, he is like you, and will tell you what you are, what you're capable of, and train you till the age of fifteen"**_, spoke the Shinigami, while pointing to the man that was now with them, who was listening intensely to the conversation.

While the Shinigami was speaking to Naruto, Goku was looking intensely at his descendant, sizing him up.

Goku finally spoke to naruto, "Hi How ya doing?" Naruto sweat dropped at this. "Anyway, I guess I'm gonna be your trainer till fifteen like the Shinigami said." Goku continued to speak after gaining a small nod from his would be protégé , "So, did you have any particular training regimen that you are currently doing?"

Naruto answered his question, "yeah, I have been basically working on my taijutsu, but haven't found a suitable style, besides my parents' style; my sealing, which I'm around low chunin; and I have good chakra control for my reserves." He added, "I've basically tried to keep any high-level training that could alert the village and my family of any training that I'm doing."

Goku had put in his thoughts when Naruto had told him all about his current skills, "Well, you have no concept of ki, so I guess we'll start there, then we'll start on simple ki manipulation that include flying and ki sensing. I'll also teach you image training to help with you learning high-level techniques without alerting the village. We'll also continue on your taijutsu training as well as stealth. Heck, if you can impress me I'll even teach you my Instant Transmission technique."

This last technique had peaked Naruto's interest far more that the flying technique.

"Instant Transmission?", Naruto asked.

"Yeah, it allows me to teleport to anything within my range to sense energy", Goku replied.

"Cool" was Naruto's only reply, while Goku chuckles.

"Okay, so now the boring part. You need to know about your race, so you'll learn about the saiyans within your mind tonight, and tomorrow ask your Hokage if you can use a training ground", Goku tells Naruto, hearing this he nods.

And so the long history lesson began.

The next day

Naruto was walking into his father's office in order to use for his training. He was inwardly praying that his father's neglect would be deep enough to where he would sign the document, letting Naruto go to a training ground of his choice.

When Naruto gave the document to his father, Minato didn't really want to hear anything that Naruto would say, so he signed it without a second thought just to get his son out of his hair.

As Naruto left the Hokage's office he couldn't believe that the entire moment just happened. He put that thought out of his mind, so he could concentrate on getting to his (_ahem_ Goku's _ahem)_ chosen training ground.

The Forest of Death.

Yes, the perfect place to hone naruto's taijutsu, stealth, energy sensing.

**Seven years later**

A figure emerged from the Forest of Death, and the figure was around 4'9" and dressed in a worn out training gi with gauntlet gravity weights on his arms and gravity shin weights on his legs. The figure was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, and he was now twelve years old. Naruto had grown much in his years of training in the Forest of Death.

His chakra levels where around low jonin with high chunin control, unlike his ki that is enormous. Goku even commented that his ki level was as high as himself when he fought Buu . His sealing capabilities rivaled both his mother's and father's capabilities. He had learned all of the moves that Goku had to offer him. Naruto was taught Goku's Turtle Hermit Fist, and excelled in it; however, Naruto's greatest achievement to date was learning and perfecting Instant Transmission to the point where Naruto could perform the technique effortlessly, and without the use of his index and middle fingers.

In the village

Naruto is now walking through the village, then out of the corner of his eye he sees a familiar stand with the three of four people Naruto trust most: Teuchi, the owner/chef of Ichiraku Ramen; Ayame, one of the two chefs in Ichiraku and daughter of Teuchi; Mikoto Uchiha, the Matriarch of the Uchiha clan.

As his eyes hover over the sight of Teuchi and his daughter, naruto remembers how he met the father/daughter duo.

**Flashback no Jutsu**

**Six years ago**

_Naruto was walking through the village, desperate to find something to eat. He had just finished training for today, and he was starving! Unfortunately, most of the restaurants won't service him because he's the 'Demon'. That's when Naruto hears a girl like scream, and all thoughts of food were gone for the moment. He immediately began to extend his senses as to find the origin of the scream._

_Naruto was able to pinpoint to screams, and find them. As he got closer to the noise, distant words such as 'help', 'no', and 'get away' were starting to make their way to Naruto's ear. He quickly veered down an alleyway, but what he would see next would make his blood boil._

_There were five young men, around the age of 16, surrounding a young woman, who was backed against the wall and in a less than appropriate state of dress. Three of the men had on flak jackets, so he assumed they were chunin while the other two were civilians._

_Anger seeping into his voice, he called out, "Hey You, don't you know that rape is illegal!"_

_Annoyance and surprise ran through the group of men, while hope within the woman. As they turn towards the person who made the statement, laughter could be heard and you could practically feel the hope in the woman dwindling._

"_Demon Fox, why don't you go run along like a good little pet before we decide to have fun with you too" said one of the men._

_The temperature suddenly dropped significantly, and all the while Naruto said nothing. With his hair covering his eyes he whirled out of existence. A second later, one of the civilians was on the ground unconscious with a broken, bloody nose._

_The three chunin, remaining civilian, and captor were shocked at the speed the boy moved at. The boy quickly assumed a stance and whirled out of sight again this time taking out the last civilian and a chunin._

_The last chunin, seeing this, quickly grabbed the woman by her hair, took out a kunai and held it to the girl's throat "S-S-Stay B-Back or I'll kill her!" he said in a frightened tone. _

"_Woah! Okay Okay, I'm backing off" as naruto placed his hands in front of him in a complacent manner, while keeping his senses extended._

_Naruto then slowly backed away, all the while taking his left hand and placing his index and middle fingers on his forehead._

_The former scared chunin then turned arrogant "Ha, I knew you didn't have it in you demon" "You wouldn't risk this little whore's life…" he continued to drabble while lowering his kunai thinking he was safe._

_In that instant, Naruto disappeared and the chunin thought 'Where the hell did he go?!' before his entire world went black._

_The woman that was about to be killed was amazed. She had never seen a person move that fast! One second he was backing away, then the next he knocked the ninja restraining her out with a hit to the back of the head._

_She quickly scrambled away from her 'would-be' raper; It was then that she noticed the features of her savior: worn-out clothes showing his athletic build with muscles starting to develop quite nicely, black spiky hair, a rather handsome face that had little baby fat on it, an extremely cute brown monkey tail swaying wildly behind him, and even cuter whisker marks on his cheeks._

_She blushed at what the kid would look like in a few years. His voice had brought her out of her musings "Hey, are you alright? What's your name?" he asked in a gentle, kind voice._

"_A-A-Ayame, and yes I'm fine thanks to y-y-you" she said with a stutter as she tries to cover her half naked form with her hands. _

"_Good, so where do you live?" asked Naruto trying to find out more about this young women._

"_My father owns the Ichiraku Ramen Stand in the village" replied Ayame. _

"_Oh, okay just give me a second to get you something more appropriate than the rags you got on as clothes" he said while showing her a spiral tattoo on his arm. He then said, "Seal Release!" with a puff of smoke Naruto now was holding a drawstring bag._

_He opened the bag to fish out a scroll that had the kanji for clothes on it. With another "Seal Release!" and another puff of smoke, Naruto now held a new, exact replica of his worn-out training gi. _

_He then handed the clothing to her and said, "I'll be right around the corner, while you get changed okay?" She just nods, and ten minutes later she calls Naruto over._

_Naruto notices the training gi is a little tight on Ayame, but that can't be helped right now. _

_Naruto speaks to Ayame, "Okay, do you want me to take you through the village to your father's restaurant or do you want me to get you there without going through the village?" _

"_I'd rather not be around a lot of people right now" she replied as Naruto nods his head in understanding._

"_Relax", Naruto says as he wraps his arm around Ayame's waist, and places his free hands' index and middle fingers to his forehead. Both of them vanish in an instant._

_After appearing at the ramen stand, Ayame called of her father and explained what had happened and Teuchi was extremely relieved and grateful to the boy._

_So, as thanks for the boy deeds, Teuchi let the boy have whatever he wanted on the house. _

**Kai**

Naruto's eyes next start to roam to the figure of Mikoto, as he remembers how he met her for the first time.

**Flashback no Jutsu** (I'm going to go into more detail about the Kushina/Naruto confrontation in the next chapter)

_It had been a few days since Ayame was nearly raped, and Naruto was walking around the village. He decided to get some ramen before going off into the forest to train for the day. He was just about to sit down and order his meal when he heard someone angrily call his name._

_Kushina was extremely mad and on the warpath. She had just found out that naruto was 'causing' trouble again. When she saw him again she was going to tear him a new one. She spots him near the ramen stand _

"_NARUTO!" she shouts with fury in her voice._

_Third point of view_

_Mikoto was walking through the village in order to get her something to eat besides what the Uchiha clan serves regularly. She had decided on ramen, and wouldn't you know it Naruto, the son of Kushina, sitting down to eat ramen as well. She thought she could talk to him and see how he and the rest of the family were doing._

_She had gotten three-fourths the way to the ramen stand when she heard and angry "NARUTO!" being projected towards him. Then, there was her best friend, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, and she looked mad as hell._

_Kushina had started to heatedly argue with Naruto, while Naruto was just trying to calm her down. Mikoto heard Kushina saying 'Why can't he be more like his sister?', and when he tried to explain to Kushina what happened she just snapped._

_Kushina grabbed a handful of his shirt and SLAPPED him hard! _

"_SPEAK ONLY WHEN SPOKEN TO, YOU DELINQUENT!" Mikoto heard Kushina scream._

_Mikoto's eyes were exactly like Naruto's: wide-eyed and full of shock._

_After a few seconds, Naruto broke free from her grip and left with a speed Kushina didn't know he had. Mikoto suddenly wasn't feeling very hungry, so she decided to try to find Naruto._

_After an hour, Mikoto finally found him. He was standing in front of the Forest of Death, so she began to carefully walk towards him._

_As Naruto was standing at the entrance of training ground 44, he was lost in his own world till he was broken out of it by a rustle of grass. He looked behind him and saw a beautiful woman: dark hair and eyes, nice figure._

"_Who are you? What do you want?" he said in a monotone voice, staring at her with no emotion. _

_Mikoto replies, "I'm Mikoto Uchiha, and I'm the best friend of your 'mother'." She ends with a whispered tone on the last word knowing the trouble he was having with Kushina right now._

_Naruto just nods his head down at the mere mention of his 'mother'. Not wanting to talk about this anymore, he starts to turn away to go into the forest._

_Suddenly, Naruto feels something press against the back of his head. He looked around and saw Mikoto embracing him in a loving hug. _

"_Naruto, you can't just keep it locked up. You have to let it out" Says a sad Mikoto. _

_He tries to fight the hug without hurting her, but he realizes it's futile. The woman just wouldn't let go. He starts to feel liquid dripping onto him, and he turns his head around to see Mikoto crying. Upon seeing this, he couldn't hold back his emotions any longer._

_A sob racks his body his body as he begins to cry. He cries over what has happened to him: the assaults, the neglect, everything!_

_As Mikoto stands there holding Naruto's sobbing form she thinks 'Kushina, you stupid fool. What have you done to your son?'_

**Kai**

Today is Naruto and Naomi's birthday, and Naruto isn't expecting anything to be different. Oh how wrong he is.

A few hours later (when the party begins)

Everyone was in the Namikaze living room in anticipation for Naomi's gifts, but only three people had brought gifts for the hokage's firstborn, Naruto.

All of the adults have already had a few drinks, so their walking a little funny at the moment.

"Okay, everybody it's time for Naomi to start opening her presents" at hearing this Naomi is ecstatic. As Naomi is tearing through gift after gift, Naruto has opened his three gifts and is glad with what he has.

From Mikoto, he has a black haori that reached his knees like his father's, and it fits him very well. From Ayame, he was given a 'HUGE' bowl of birthday ramen made just for him, ultra-size. By the time Teuchi was ready to give Naruto his gift, Naruto had already inhaled his birthday ramen. Finally, Teuchi had decided to give Naruto a cookbook call it a hunch, but Teuchi had a feeling Naruto would need it one day.

At this point of the party, everyone could see Naomi holding two giant scrolls and everyone gasping at what they were.

Both Jiraiya and Tsunade had wanted Naomi to sign their respective contracts, but they ended up bickering about which contract Naomi would sign. As everyone had their attention on the two full grown sannin acting like children, Naomi gave an arrogant, smug smile right at her brother.

Minato then spoke, "Alright Naomi, it's time for your final gift. After a lot of thought I and your mother have decided to give you the title of clan heiress."

Mikoto looked shocked and was inwardly seething, 'They… can't…' Everyone else looked happy, minus Ichiraku who looked shocked, for the girl. Naruto doesn't have any readable emotions on his face.

She couldn't believe both Minato and Kushina are doing this. As part of a clan herself, she knows that this can only be done if the current heir dies or… is expelled from the clan! And if the look on Naruto's face says anything, then he knows what this gift to Naomi means too.

"Minato… Kushina… can I speak to you really quick?" they both nod and head into the kitchen.

"So, what do you want to talk about Mikoto?" Minato asks. Mikoto couldn't contain herself

"Are you guys out of your mind? Do you realize what you are doing to Naruto?"

They replied, "Yeah, Naruto hasn't shown any abilities that would make a good clan head, unlike Naomi, so we decided to give her the title of heiress."

Suddenly all three hears a crash, and ran back into the living room to see what was going on.

**Flashback no Jutsu**

A few moments ago

_Naomi got up from her position in the living room, and went to hug her brother. She wraps him in a hug "Did you hear that?" She begins to whisper arrogantly "Mom and Dad are giving me the title of clan heiress, and then they are throwing you out like the piece of trash you are."_

_Naruto could no longer keep himself calm. He punched her in the gut with one hand breaking a few of her ribs and forcing her to cough up blood, and then punched her square on the jaw, with the sound of bone cracking filling the surrounding area, knocking her back into a lamp stand making a loud crash as it hit the floor along with Naomi._

**Kai**

Minato, Kushina, and Mikoto ran through the door to only see an enraged Naruto scowling down at his 'sister', who was bleeding from the mouth and holding her mid-section and jaw gasping.

"NARUTO! What do you think you are doing?!" yells Minato, who is shocked at the scene before him.

"SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO YELL AT ME AFTER WHAT YOU TWO HAVE DONE!" roared Naruto, finally having enough of how his 'family' treats him "I'VE TAKEN A LOT OF SHIT FROM THIS VILLAGE, ALONG WITH YOUR NEGLECT AND YOUR RIDICULE" he started shaking uncontrollably "BUT NOW, YOU TWO CROSSED THE LINE BY GIVEN THAT ARROGANT 'THING' _MY _BIRTHRIGHT!" he started to scream at both Minato and Kushina.

Minato started to speak, "Naruto, your sister showed mo-"

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" Naruto roared at Minato again "SHE ONLY SHOWED MORE PROMISE THAN ME BECAUSE YOU ACTUALLY TRAINED HER AND DIDN'T THROW HER OFF TO THE SIDE LIKE ME!" Naruto, screaming louder as he continued.

With that Naruto runs upstairs to his room, slamming the door closed upon entering, and preparing to leave this hell hole. He grabs his drawstring bag that has all his worldly possessions: sealing scrolls that contain extra clothes, his gauntlet/shin gravity weights, and his sealing ideas.

Naruto then slips out of the window of his room, and begins to levitate in the air. He was about to leave Konoha, but he felt a disturbance. He decided to investigate, and was rewarded with a nearly dead Uchiha clan member.

"What happened to you?" asked Naruto.

"Itachi… Traitor… Kill…Clan…" the clan member choked out before passing on into the void.

'So, Itachi went and killed his clan huh?' thought Naruto, sad that one of the people he trusts had snapped.

Naruto then notices the sharingan still active in the dead Uchiha's head. He decides to take them thinking 'He won't need them and I could use a trump card.' He then quickly creates a stasis storage scroll in order to store the eyes till he can implant them into his own eyes.

With his work done, Naruto then jumps into the air and begins to fly, at full power, out of the village not to be heard of by the village for two years.

END CHAPTER 1

**I'D LIKE THE THANK RONNY214 AND NCPFAN FOR ALL THE HELP THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN MY FOR THIS STORY (IDEAS, CRITICS, ETC.)


	2. Training, Wave and Level Two

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DRAGON BALL Z

Chapter 2: Training, Wave and Level Two

Two weeks after Naruto's departure from the Leaf…

We find Naruto traveling to a place unknown to him at the moment by foot as to not attract any unwanted attention, having a mental discussion with his sensei, Goku.

'_Naruto, I think it is about time for you to begin your training to become a Super Saiyan', _Goku spoke within Naruto's mind as Naruto hears this he gets a shocked and surprised look on his face. He had listened intensely to the stories that Goku had told him concerning the Super Saiyan transformations and much more.

'Really? You think that I am ready to start that type of training?' Naruto thought back, doubting his own abilities and worth.

'_Yes Naruto. You are more than ready because your ki level is higher than mine when I became a Super Saiyan' _Goku tries to assure his protégé_ 'You soak up information like a sponge and train harder than me, so I have no doubt you will do fine'_

Naruto beamed at his sensei's words, 'Thanks, sensei'Naruto then got a questioning look in his face'Sensei, if the Super Saiyan transformation is as flashy as you describe then how will I be initiate it without attracting a whole lot of people to my location?'

'_Ah, there is the beauty of it.' _Goku spoke with a triumphant grin on his face_ 'I am going to direct you to Kami's lookout tower where the time chamber resides.'_

'The time chamber. The TIME CHAMBER!' Naruto's eyes widen as he hears his sensei speak.

'_Yes, the time chamber. The perfect place for you to train, so you to go as wild as you want!' _Goku replies, while chuckling at his surprised student.

'Well then, what are we waiting for, lets get to training!'mentally shouts in excitement to his sensei.

'_Alright, Alright… Just let me pinpoint the lookout's location' _he begins to focus on where the lookout is currently at _'Found it… twenty-three miles to your left, then go up' Goku says._

Naruto then begins to levitate in the air, and then takes off towards his left at full power, eager to start training.

It was not long till his sensei mentally spoke_ 'Up' _

Naruto then proceeded to fly straight up into the atmosphere. Naruto begins to see a small dot above him that is increasing rapidly in size as he approaches it.

'_Here we are, Kami's lookout and the time chamber' _Goku speaks as the memories of his time here start to flow back to him.

Naruto starts to descend towards the front steps of the lookout, his eyes full of wonder at the place. As he lands, Naruto notices a short, chubby looking man 'There is Mr. Popo' Goku says casually.

'That's Mr. Popo!' Narito thought, his eyes nearly pop out of his head learning this 'I was not expecting him to look like this'

"Hello, young man. Who are you? What are you doing here?" Mr. Popo asks in a polite manner.

"Hello to you, Mr. Popo. My name is Naruto" Mr. Popo facial expression turns from clam to shock as the young man knows his name. "I heard about this place through many interesting stories, and I was wondering if it would be possible for me to train here?"

"Naruto, how is it that you know my name?" asked Mr. Popo, curious to how Naruto knows his name.

"Ah, yes. My sensei told me of you in his many stories of the world during his time" as Naruto remembers the stories he was told.

"Who is your sensei, young Naruto?" Mr. Popo asks

"Son Goku" Naruto proclaims proudly.

"Ah, Goku huh, a very nice man." Mr. Popo replies. "He never would stop training for a minute."

"Yeah, I am kinda the same way." Replied Naruto, agreeing with what Mr. Popo said about his mentor.

"So, you wanted to come here for training in the time chamber right?" Mr. Popo asks. Naruto nods his head "Alright you can use it , but you will need to know a few things about the chamber first before you go in."

At hearing this, Naruto stiffens ever so slightly, gaining a serious look on his face.

"First, when you enter the time chamber, you will be able to get an extremely high amount of training done within a short period of time" Naruto nods his head at this, already knowing about it from Goku "Second, you will only be able to stay in the chamber for a maximum of two days. This is the longest amount of time the body can withstand being in the chamber" Mr. Popo said with great seriousness in his voice, wanting to get the point across.

"What would happen if you stayed over the allotted time?" asks Naruto, genuinely curious about the after effects.

"If you stay in the chamber for longer than two days, then you will never be able to leave" Mr. Popo said in a grave tone.

"Alright, lets get to training!" Naruto says enthusiastically. Mr. Popo shakes his head with a small smile on his face, 'He certainly is his master's student.'

As Naruto stands at the entrance to the time chamber, Mr. Popo says one last thing, "Naruto, there is two years' worth of food to sustain you in the chamber. Train hard and good luck." Naruto nods his head in thanks as he walks through the entrance, and hears the door close.

Inside the time chamber…

As Naruto is walking around the room Goku decides to start his tort… ahem… I mean training, _'Naruto, what I want you to do first is to take out your gravity weights and put them on, but do not activate them yet. You will have plenty of time for that' _as Naruto takes out his drawstring bag via his storage seal located on his shoulder.

Naruto finds the scroll containing his weights, and with a quick "Seal Release!" and a puff of smoke Naruto then straps on his weights.

'_Alright, now get out onto the training are so we can begin, but don't wander off more than a few feet.' _As Naruto begins to walk on the gigantic white training ground_ 'The gravity here can fluctuate quite rapidly, but right now it is ten times the gravity you have been training at.' _As soon as Naruto gets a few feet away from the resting room, he feels the level of gravity hit him.

'Damn, this makes things a little more difficult!'Naruto says mentally, as he physically struggles to move to this new gravity.

'_Yeah but you are doing a little better than my son, Gohan, did when he first came here' _Goku replies, clearly impressed by what he is seeing. Naruto beams hearing this._ 'What I want to do is get you used to the gravity, and then we can start your Super Saiyan training'_

Naruto uses this as motivation to get to the real training quicker, and starts to do vigorous physical activities in order to get use to the gravity.

One hour later…

Goku was completely amazed at what was happening; Naruto had gotten the ten times gravity down in a single hour, while he had gotten it down in nearly two! _'Looks like Naruto is ready to begin his ascension, but he is going to have to relive everything that he has been through' _thought a cumbersome Goku, at having to put his protégé through this.

He finally voiced his instruction out loud,_ 'Naruto, you have adjusted to the gravity well enough, now, comes the hard part of the training' _Naruto hears this, and realizes that, from Goku's stories, he needs to be in a heightened state of rage in order to reach Super Saiyan_ 'Naruto I want you to raise your power level as high as you can go, and then think back about all of the things that you have been through.'_

'Yes sensei' **"Haaa…"** Naruto says as he begins to increase his power level **"Anhaaaa…"** the time dimension starts to shake from the power that Naruto is releasing. After fifteen minutes, Naruto's power is now at maximum strength and now he begins to remember everything that got him to this moment.

**Flashback no Jutsu**

A six years ago, several days after Naruto saved Ayame from being raped…

_Naruto had just sat down to order his ramen when he heard an angry sounding "NARUTO!" He turned to the sound and saw his mother making a B-line straight towards him._

"_Hi Kaa-san, why are you so angry?" Naruto asks, wondering what he had done to have her angry at him._

"_YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! YOU ATTACKED THREE CHUNIN AND TWO CIVILIANS WITHOUT PROVOCATION! ARGH! WHY CAN'T YOU BE LIKE YOUR SISTER!", Kushina shrieked so loud that people were staring to notice the scene._

'_Why would I want to be like her? She is an arrogant, selfish, and manipulative bitch' Naruto thinks then says, "Kaa-san, I think that you have been greatly misinform-_

_SLAP_

_He felt a small amount of pain on his cheek, he could not believe it! His mother had just slapped him 'she is not even letting me get my side of the story in' He then heard her yell._

"_SPEAK ONLY WHEN SPOKEN TO, YOU DELINQUENT!_

_He broke free from the grip that she had on him to slap him, and then hi took off as fast as he could, not wanting to be in her presence any longer._

Three months after Naruto's third birthday…

_Naruto was running as fast as his tired body would allow him. He had just gotten done with his personal training for the day. Why was he running? Behind him was a huge, angry mob of both civilians and shinobi!_

"_DIE DEMON! IT IS TIME FOR US TO FINISH WHAT OUR BELOVED YONDIAME STARTED AND FREE HIS SON FROM YOUR DEMONIC CONTROL, DEMON!", They shouted, catching up to him with every second._

'_Why are they doing this to me? What have I ever done to them? Where is Tou-chan and Kaa-chan? Why aren't they here?!' he couldn't think anymore because he had felt a kunai sinking into his right calf "ARGGHHH!" he screamed in pain._

_"ARGGHHH!" he screamed in pain__ as he collapsed to the ground. Within an instant, the mob was upon him, beating and torturing him in their crazed rage__._

_They__ cut him, stabbed him, and kicked him several times__.__By the time they stopped having fun beating him, they left him there on the street in a growing pool of his own blood, with __several__ broken__ ribs__ and__ a __punctured __lung. __Naruto had __long since__ lost consciousness after being kicked a few times. __He didn't know what compassionate soul took pity on him, but he woke up in an alley off of the main road not far from where he'd been left. Looking up, he saw a cloudless inky black sky. He would later come to learn that hi__s parents and sister __had been__ back at the house__ the entire time__, with Naruto not even crossing their minds._

After Naomi had gotten the title of heiress…

'_I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS! THEY WOULD WILLINGLY THROW ME OUT OF THE CLAN AND HOUSE! JUST TO MAKE THIS ARROGANT BITCH HAPPY!' Naruto went on in his mind 'THEY THINK I DID NOT NOTICE, BUT WHEN THEY LOOKED AT ME FOR A SECOND, I COULD SEE DISAPPOINTMENT IN THEIR EYES. WHY ARE 'THEY' DISAPPOINTED! THEY HAVEN'T TAUGHT __ME__ A DAMN THING IN NINE YEARS SINCE THEY STARTED TRAINING NAOMI! HELL, THEY HAVEN'T EVEN TRIED TO BE A MOTHER AND FATHER TO ME! IT IS ALWAYS HER!'_

**Kai**

Something snapped within Naruto, he let back his head and let loose an enraged scream, "**NNUUAARRGGHHH!"**

Naruto's spiky, black hair shifted upwards turning a golden color, his once cerulean blue eyes turned teal green, and a yellow aura appears around Naruto's form as his power level skyrockets.

'_Naruto, great job on becoming a Super Saiyan' _Goku says as Naruto's body begins to shift into a relaxed state.

Goky continued,_'Now, what we are going to do is get you use__d__ to the transformation so__ you can become a Super Saiyan at will.__ Y__ou won't need to take as long to transform__,__ and __you won't need to use anywhere near as much Ki to do it.__ T__hat way__,__ you can stay in __Super Saiyan form__ for extended periods of time__ – even indefinitely, when you become strong enough__.'_

'Alright sensei, but let me try something first' as Naruto took out a blank scroll paper and began writing on it. After a few minutes, he placed the paper on the ground. On the paper was an intricate seal array Naruto then cut his hand and placed a smear of blood on the seal array, and then made the RAM hand sign and said, "Activate."

The seal array started to glow blue, and the smear of blood then started to grow and bulge. A few minutes later, a perfect replica of Naruto formed on top of the seal array.

'_Naruto, what did you just do?' _asks Goku. As Naruto listened to his sensei's question began to think back on how he came across the original new clone technique.

**Flashback no Jutsu**

_One month after Naomi's training began…_

_With both his parents too busy teaching Naomi to bother with him, Naruto decided to discretely help himself to his parents scrolls. _

_As Naruto sneaked into his father's office, he started to look in his bookshelf and found a starting book on sealing. Naruto was extremely interested in sealing ever since he had seen his mother and father use it when he was younger, so he decided to 'borrow' the beginners sealing guide. As he was leaving, something else caught his eye. It was a huge scroll that did not seem to be very important, considering that fact that it had no protection what so ever._

_So, Naruto decided to open the scroll and see what was inside. To his amazement, the scroll was filled to the brim with techniques, and so he began to read through the scroll. After ten minutes of reading, he came across a technique that interested him._

_The Blood Clone Technique:_

_A variation of the clone technique that is formed by RAM hand sign, while adding chakra to the blood of the user. This clone technique is the sturdiest out of all clones because you actually have to kill them like you would kill a human being in order to end the technique, besides the user dispelling the technique. This clone technique also has the properties of the Shadow Clone technique, which transfers memories of whatever the clone learns to the original and half the chakra of the user. This technique requires half a pint of blood and a quarter of jonin chakra reserves in order to work._

_Naruto then snuck out of the office and went to his room to begin seals training._

**Kai**

"_Well, I just took the original technique, the blood clone, and combined it with __a seal array__ that will __multiply the cells from the blood I supply to the amount__ needed to form the clone, while I send the chakra_." Said Naruto, speaking in a serious tone.

'How many can you make, and how long do they last?' Goku asked, looking extremely curious and happy at the technique Naruto used.

"I can make at least two more with this one, and not exhaust my reserves" replies Naruto, as Goku gets a dark gleam in his eyes.

'Make the other clones so you can get started on a more _Advanced_ training regimen…ku..ku…ku' Goku chuckles dementedly at the end, while Naruto thinks

'Aw shit'

And so the two years of the training from hell began.

Outside the time chamber

Two days later…

Mr. Popo was tending to his garden when he remembered that Naruto was supposed to come out of the time chamber today 'I need to get ready so I can greet Naruto when he comes out of the chamber' He begins to set everything up so he could see how well Naruto's training paid off.

At the time chamber entrance…

The door to the time chamber opens just as Mr. Popo appears in the line of sight. A young man, around the age of fourteen, walks out, and he has light blonde hair and teal green eyes. This young man is none other than Naruto.

"Hello, Naruto. I trust your training went well" asked Mr. Popo, curious as to what the young man was able to do after the two years' worth of training he did in the time chamber.

"Yes the training went very well, and then some" replies Naruto, in a relaxed tone despite being in his Super Saiyan form.

"I see you have done the exact same thing that Goku did with his Super Saiyan state" said Mr. Popo, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, it is unbelievable how natural the transformation feels now that I have mastered it" replies Naruto, proving Mr. Popo's statement true. "Mr. Popo, there is a secret that I would like to tell you. It is very personal to me, but I believe you have shown yourself to be an understanding and kind person.

Mr. Popo smiles at hearing Naruto say such wonderful things about him, and is touched by the amount of trust that the young man is putting in him.

"You see…" Naruto begins as he tells his life story to Mr. Popo. He explains what happened to him and his 'sister' at birth, his life up to his leaving the village, and finally his trip to the lookout. At the end of it all, Popo is just barley trying to not breakdown right there.

"It must have been awful to have had to go through that Naruto" Mr. Popo sniffles out, trying to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall from his eyes. Naruto simply nods his head at the statement his new friend made.

When Mr. Popo got himself under control he asked, "I am curious though if you had made any progress in dealing with this 'Kyuubi'?"

"Actually, yes I have. I fought him and won, which ended with me obtaining the Kyuubi's chakra and a small piece of his respect. He's still pissed about the fact that I took his chakra, but at least I got him to respect me a little bit from fighting him myself" replies Naruto, thinking back to his fight with Kyuubi.

**Flashback no Jutsu**

_It had been a year and a half since Naruto began his training in the time chamber, and he was ecstatic. He had mastered the Super Saiyan transformation in the first six months of awakening it, and then he began perfecting his ki attacks and taijutsu while in the transformation, which took another six months, and, finally for the last six months, he had been working on increasing his power level in his Super Saiyan transformation._

_Naruto was now in his mindscape talking to his sensei. "Sensei, since you have a connection with the death god do you think it would be possible for you to contact him, and asks him to meet me here in my mind? There is something that I would like to discuss with him,"_

_A few more minutes of hard concentration from Goku, and Naruto was rewarded with a hard, cold feeling descending around him. A few seconds later the shinigami appeared._

"_**Ah, Naruto, what is it that you wish to speak to me about, it better be good since I don't like my personal time being wasted by trivial matters"**__ spoke the shinigami in a serious tone. Naruto nodded, and then spoke_

"_You did the sealing of the Kyuubi, correct?" the shinigami nodded his head, wondering where this was going._

"_**Yes, I performed the sealing at the behest of the old man hokage, Sarutobi, and splitted the two halves of the Kyuubi's chakra between you and your sister"**__ said the shinigami_

"_Do you have the key to the seal considering you performed the sealing?" asked Naruto._

"_**Yes, I do have the key, but why would you want to know about that?"**__ replied/asked the shinigami, in an amused tone already knowing where this conversation will end._

"_Well, I was hoping you could release the seal so I could fight the Kyuubi" said Naruto, his hand rubbing the back of his head absent-mindedly._

"_**I'll do you one better. I'll give you the key, so you can release the seal yourself and I along with Goku here will watch"**__ spoke the shinigami, who materializes two chairs from nothing for both he and Goku to sit on and watch the fight._

_As Naruto walked towards the cage the Kyuubi, who had been listening to the conversation the entire time, spoke __**"Little saiyan monkey, what are you doing?"**__ contempt oozing out of his voice._

"_I'm going to release the seal, and fight you" said Naruto in a jovial tone, as he began to unlock the seal. The Kyuubi just growled at what his container said._

_The Kyuubi took his chance as soon as the last lock on the seal was released. He brought his arm back and slammed it down upon the seal gate, blasting it open and breaking it off its hinges as well as sending Naruto back several feet._

"_**HA, YOU INSOLENT MONKEY! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"**__ as the Kyuubi continued his boastful 'victory'. __**"YOU HAVE PRACTCALLY GIVEN ME MY FREEDOM, AND AFTER I'M DONE CRUSHING YOU INTO DUST I'LL GET STARTED ON YOUR SISTER!"**_

_Kyuubi then charges up a Bijuudama and fires it right at Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto is getting up from being sent back at the beginning of the fight. He then noticed a large ball of highly condensed chakra coming straight at him. Naruto is engulfed in a bright light as the Bijuudama explodes. _

_**"HAHAHAHAHA! YOU SEE THAT! THAT LITTLE MONKEY WAS NO MATCH FOR ME!" **_

_Naruto suddenly appears right in front of an extremely surprised Kyuubi. __With great speed, strength, and a yell "RAGH!", Naruto kicks Kyuubi on the side of his nose sending him flying to right of Kyuubi's former position. Naruto disappears then reappears above Kyuubi, and then brings both hands down on Kyuubi's body and slams him from the air straight to the ground, making tsunamis erupt away Kyuubi's form from the force of Naruto's attack._

_Naruto then becomes parallel to the ground with his arms and legs spread wide fifty meters above Kyuubi, charging his energy and preparing for his final assault. Kyuubi noticed Naruto above him and started the channel his chakra for his own attack. Both of them redouble their efforts in anticipation for the other's attack, and Naruto positions his hands in front of him._

"_**BIJUUDAMA!"**__ the Kyuubi let loose his gigantic tailed beast bomb at Naruto. At the last second, Naruto performed Instant Transmission and appeared right in front of Kyuubi's face._

"_FINAL FLASH!" Naruto screamed, releasing his attack on Kyuubi at POINT BLANK RANGE. As the blast hit Kyuubi it exploded, engulfing both Kyuubi and Naruto in an enormous ball of bright light._

_As the light died down a broken, beaten Kyuubi but still breathing was seen in a humongous crater, twice the size any Bijuudama could make. Naruto then began to take Kyuubi chakra for his own, while Kyuubi, in his extremely weakened form, could only growl at this act. Naruto prevented Kyuubi from influencing him because of his strong will and memories of the people he truly cares for, so Naruto was able to complete the taking of Kyuubi's chakra._

_Naruto then resealed Kyuubi with the shiki fuin key the shinigami gave him, and then fell to his knees completely exhausted_

"_**I won't forget this Naruto"**__ Kyuubi says, completely exhausted form the battle before deciding to sleep to regain its lost energy. _

'_Don't worry Kyuubi. I won't treat you badly, just wait a little longer' was his last thought before succumbing to unconsciousness._

_Meanwhile, with Goku and Shinigami…_

_Both overseers had seen both combatants fall into unconsciousness, and both were proud of what Naruto had just accomplished._

**_"Goku, your protégé doesn't know the word or the meaning of restraint does he?"_**_ the shinigami asked Goku._

_Goku replied, "__No__pe!__ He'__s never even heard the word, and if you think this is bad__,__ you should've seen him when he was training to master the Super Saiyan transformation__!__"_

_The Shinigami sweatdrops__ upon__ hearing this._

**Kai **

"So, what do you plan on doing now Naruto?" asks his friend, wondering what he is going to do after his training in the time chamber.

"I am going to travel the elemental nations to see what is out there and possibly do other things, but I don't know what it is yet" replied Naruto, giving his friend an honest answer.

"Well, have a safe journey, and remember if you need to train in the chamber again don't hesitate to come here" Mr. Popo says before walking off.

"Thanks I'll be sure to do that" loudly speaks Naruto so his walking friend can hear him.

With that Naruto began walking towards the edge of the lookout only to jump off of it. As he fell, he was suddenly hit by a wave of fear, sadness, and malice thanks to his new sensing capabilities from the Kyuubi's chakra. He quickly flew to where the feelings were originating from.

As he got closer he was able to make out a giant group of people that were facing smaller group of people with three people in the front. The middle person was on his knees with a thug like looking man on his left and a suit wearing midget on his right. Naruto then noticed the thug like man unsheathe a blade and started to bring it down on the middle man's neck. Seeing this, Naruto quickly performed Instant Transmission…

A few moments before in the Wave village…

The villagers of Wave were standing in a tight group on a plateau; Across from them were three people: the first man was a thug hired by Gato, the second man, Kaiza, was on his knees looking beaten and exhausted, and finally was Gato, the person who had caused the gathering. Behind him was a group of thugs that he had hired.

"Now all of you will witness what happens to people who cross me, and let this be a lesson to you on who is in charge of this village!" Gato shouts arrogantly, thinking that no one will be able to stop him "Kill him now!"

The thug that was standing next to Kaiza pulled out a sword and swung it down upon Kaiza's head only for a young man to appear out of nowhere next to Kaiza. The blade then went through his neck forcing the image of Kaiza and the young man to shimmer out of existence.

Gasp was heard throughout the villagers' side when suddenly said young man and Kaiza appeared in front of them. Not a second later a cry of "Kaiza-koi!" and "daddy!" were heard as a woman and a child ran from the front of the crowd to the downed Kaiza.

"You're lucky that I sensed you, otherwise you would have died" spoke the young man, who had not taken his eyes of the small group of bandits or the midget "Why don't you and your little group of thugs leave before things get nasty."

The bandit that had nearly cut off Kaiza's head honestly thought that he could take the young man, so he charged him. Not a second later, the thug had a fist in the gut, and, for added effect, was blasted into the air by some strange energy blast.

"Leave now or I will kill you all" the black haired boy said in a cold tone.

Gato and his small army of thug began to back away, while Gato thought, 'This is not over, not by a long shot'

When Gato and his thugs were finally gone, the woman, who was down next to Kaiza, suddenly got up and wrapped the young man in a hug whispering "Thank You" over and over again.

He gently rubbed her back trying to get her to calm down whispering sweet nothings in her ear, and when she finally calmed down he spoke, "Hi, my name is Naruto, and not to be nosy but what is going on here?"

"Sorry, my name is Tsunami and you've just saved my husband and Inari's step father" Tsunami said, glad that someone had stepped in to save someone she cared about "But, surely you realize that Gato will come back with much more than just thugs next time, right?"

"Then, I'll just have to stay here to protect you guys" replies Naruto.

Tsunami starts to tear up again, and repeatedly says "Thank You"

Over the next few weeks, everything was great for both Naruto and Wave. Naruto had learned that Kaiza and a few others were working together to build a bridge in order to get rid of Gato because of his corruption and what it was doing to Wave. Seeing as he had learned of Wave's current history, Naruto decided to tell the family of his own past.

The Wave family couldn't believe what had come out of the young man's mouth when he informed them of his past. They were APPALLED, how could his own parents/sister do that to him and not seemingly care? Other than that day, everything had been going good for Wave since Naruto's appearance. Unfortunately, that was about to change in the next few days.

A few days later…

Kaiza and a few other workers were working to finish the creation of a bridge that would help them in the future, under the supervision of Tazuna. Suddenly, a thick mist appeared out of nowhere and a dark oppressive force hit the bridge workers and Kaiza. A giant blade suddenly swung down of Kaiza's shocked form until it was stopped by a single hand. The shadowy figure wielding the giant blade traced the hand to its owner, a 'blonde haired' boy around fourteen.

Naruto was glad that he had decided to oversee the building of the bridge to make sure nothing went wrong. He then heard the shadowy, blade-wielding figure speak "Heh, kid why don't you go back to your mommy, so the adults can deal with business." Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously at the 'mommy' comment.

Naruto replied, "Why don't you tell me what you're doing here, and who you are?" in a tone so cold it left no room for argument.

"FINE! I, Zabuza wielder of the head hunter blade, am here to kill the people you're protecting, so why don't you let me do what I'm being paid for!" A frustrated Zabuza answered. Naruto gained a thoughtful look on his face before answering

"Sorry, no can do! Since you're being paid I assume Gato is involved?" he started in playful tone only to get serious at the question about Gato. He received no answer "Well, let's see what you can do without that sword of yours"

Naruto then, with great strength, ripped the blade out of Zabuza's hands and threw it off to the side. If looks could kill, Naruto would be dead a thousand times over with the glare Zabuza was giving him. Naruto then assumed the Turtle Hermit Fist stance, and disappeared in a burst of speed.

As their fists met, Naruto immediately matched his opponents' strength, but after five minutes he became bored. He then began to very slowly increase his strength after every successful hit. Naruto suddenly appeared behind Zabuza, and as Zabuza began an attack on the 'blonde' said 'blonde' acrobatically back-flipped into the air shifting into a roundhouse kick that nailed Zabuza right in his face sending him back ten feet.

Zabuza was struggling to get up from that last hit 'Grrr… What the hell was that? He matched my strength and then it started to increase! Who is he, and how did he get so strong?!' an extremely frustrated Zabuza thought. He then noticed the kid had raised his hand, and a bright, blue ball appeared seconds later.

"It's over" he hears the kid say in a monotone voice, and he knows he is about to die.

In the trees, outside the battle area, a mist hunter nin crouched on a branch watching the battle. As she sees her target, Zabuza, struggling to get up she decides to act now.

Back to Naruto and Zabuza…

As Naruto was about to fire his ki attack at Zabuza, he suddenly hears whistling, and then he sees senbon imbed them into Zabuza's neck. Zabuza then falls to the ground dead, and a hunter nin appears over his corpse.

"Thank you for your help in dealing with my target. I have to leave to dispose of the body now." She and the body then disappears with a mizu-shushin. Naruto then turns his attention to Kaiza and the other workers, who have their lower jaws on the ground.

"What?" he asked in a casual manner, completely playing off the fact that he just saved them all.

One week later…

Naruto had found this really cute girl walking around, so he decided to try to talk to her. He found out her name, which was Haku and that she also had a troubled past like him. Hearing her talk about her past, Naruto decided to tell Haku about his and she was extremely shocked by what he said.

She had told him what she was doing: Grabbing herbs for a sick friend, and he decided to help her out. Over the next few weeks, they grew very close and he decided to take her out on a date. The date went off without a hitch with both of them enjoying the time they spent together.

Naruto is currently watching the bridge building when he suddenly thought of something. 'Hunter nins are supposed to destroy the body of a missing nin on sight, but this hunter nin didn't' Naruto thought, while remembering some of the reading he had done in Konoha before he left. With that knowledge, Naruto quickly assumed that the hunter nin was working with Zabuza, and that he would attack again as soon as he was healed.

A few days later…

As expected, Zabuza and that hunter nin had showed up right as the workers were putting the finishing touches on the bridge. "So, I was right about you hunter nin" Naruto says in a cold voice.

"I am doing what I have to, Naruto-san," she replies, while Naruto is thinking, '_How does she know my name and why does she seem so f__amilia__r?_'

Naruto performed the ram hand sign then slammed his hand down onto the ground.

"Fuinjutsu: Multiple Blood Clone Technique" he yells as a sealing matrix forms on the ground and two blood clones start to form within the sealing matrix. Naruto then orders the two blood clones to protect the others, while he engages Zabuza.

"I'm not playing with you this time Zabuza" Naruto says coldly as he assumes his stance and disappears.

He appears in front of Zabuza and punches him in the gut, which makes blood start to flow from his mouth as the sound of ribs cracking is made clear. As Zabuza is hunched over from the devastating punch to his mid-section, Naruto raises his hands together and axe slams them down across Zabuza's back sending him to the ground creating a small crater from the impact. He would have finished Zabuza off right there, but some incoming memory from one of his blood clones stopped him.

When the hunter nin split with Zabuza to take care of the two BCNarutos and the workers…

BCNaruto1 and BCNaruto2 were guarding the workers as their 'boss' fought Zabuza. The clones noticed Zabuza's associate was heading in their direction, so BCNaruto1 got in a ready stance.

The hunter nin just formed one hand sign, and ice mirrors formed around them. "It's over" she said, as she stepped in one of the mirrors. She then blurs out of existence, and heads straight at BCNaruto1, preparing to end it quickly. Suddenly, she feels pain in her mid-section, and she looks down. She gasps as sees BCNaruto1 in front of her with his elbow buried in her gut. BCNaruto1, while his elbow is buried in her gut, moves his hand to vertically backhand the hunter nin nailing her in the face. She is sent back a few feet, and her mask shattering could be heard. As she was slowly getting up, BCNaruto1 got a good look at her face. He gasped, and quickly dispelled informing the original of what just transpired.

Back with Naruto and Zabuza…

Receiving the memory transfer, Naruto quickly turns around to face the now revealed hunter nin. He begins to walk towards her "H-H-Haku-c-c-chan" he stutters, not believing that this is happening.

"Nanruto-kun, I'm sorry you had to find out this way" she said in a sad tone, wishing this didn't happen.

"Why?"he asks, wanting to know why this happened.

"Because, like I said before, I did what I had to do. Zabuza-sama was the one that saved me, gave me a purpose" she said as tears fell from her eyes. Naruto just stares at her in sorrow.

Haku's eyes widen suddenly, then she says quickly, "Sorry, Naruto-kun but this is the last time."

She then vanishes, and a second later Naruto heard a 'SQUELSH', he turns around and his eyes widen in shock and fear at the sight before him.

A man standing over Zabuza, in front of Haku, who had a sword through her chest! The man then pushed Haku off his sword, and tuned to a shaking Naruto "Heh, thanks kid for dealing with Zabuza, all that was left was to deal with his little bitch follower" the man says uncaringly "I knew the bitch would sacrifice her life just to 'save' him, but you can't save what already dead" Suddenly, Naruto hears a voice speak

"Hehehe… So the baby demon is dead, shame about his little bitch though, my men could have used her for some fun" the now revealed Gato said arrogantly, having a group of thugs at his back. As he talked, he strolled down to where the bodies of Zabuza and Haku are. He then kicks Haku's face, knocking her head to the other side. With that act, Naruto releases his anger and snaps!

"**NNUURAAGGHHH!"** Naruto screams in rage, as he rears his head back, his aura flaring to life with electricity starting to arc around his form **"RRAA…RRU…"** his hair started to shift upwards even more and was sporting a single bang down the front of his face **"RRAAHHAAAAA!"** as a bright light surrounds Naruto.

As the light dies down, Naruto becomes visible with a violent aura around him, electricity arcing wildly. The ground around him is devastated with huge chunks of earth missing, no doubt form the power that he released going into Super Saiyan Two. His face is stone cold, which is scaring the living hell out of everyone else there, Gato included.

Naruto assumed a stance, with his left arm positioned in front with his palm facing out, and his right arm positioned behind him with a golden ball of ki in his hand. (think goku's stance when he fought cell, except with a golden ball of ki in his right hand) Then Naruto disappeared and reappeared to the side of the man who killed Haku.

Naruto pivoted his hips, and swung his left arm sending the man upwards into the air, and then Naruto appeared above the man then slammed his right ki filled hand into the man's gut. Naruto fired his ki blasts, with the man still on his ki ball, towards the small army of thugs. As the ball descends it grows bigger, engulfing the thugs, eradicating them along with the surrounding area.

Naruto vanishes from his present location, and appears behind the last man left, Gato. Gato was scared out of his wits seeing this young man completely decimate his forces as he speaks in a frightened, desperate tone.

"W-W-Wait, W-W-Whatever y-you want I c-c-can g-give it to y-you. M-Money, p-power, w-women? W-Whatever y-you w-want!"

As he looked at Gato's terrified face Naruto said, "I want you dead" emotionlessly.

Naruto then snaps his neck easily. He then hears cheering; He looks around and sees the entire village near the crater he caused, and looking happy that Gato is finally gone. At the front was Inari, who had gathered the villagers together after a blood clone, Naruto left at the house just in case, saved him and his mom form being kidnapped by thugs.

It was at this point that Goku screamed in his mind _'NARUTO, CHECK WHERE HAKU IS! SHE'S STILL ALIVE!'_ Naruto's eyes widened at this, and he made his way to where Haku and Zabuza are.

"HELP! SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR NOW!" Naruto screams, desperate to not lose the girl he had grown to care for in the past month. He then channeled his ki into her as a desperation attempt to keep her alive till help arrived.

Five hours later…

Naruto had been by Haku's side for the past five hours, and he had no intentions of leaving. Hell, the doctors didn't want him to leave, since his energy was the only thing keeping the girl alive. He was ecstatic and relived when Haku's eyes began to flutter open, and he grabbed her hand and held it gently.

"Haku-chan, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asks gently, worried for her health.

"Mmm… Naruto-kun…" suddenly she tries to sit up, but Naruto gently stops her "Naruto-kun, where's Zabuza-sama? Is he…"

"Sshhh… everything is okay, Zabuza is beaten up, but he'll live and so will you" he ended in a tone full of care and relief "Haku, I'm going to have to leave soon, but don't worry I'll be back for you" he says as he notices her expression of fear. Haku then tries her luck and brings her face close to Naruto's and kisses him. once he is out of his own world, Naruto reciprocates the kiss.

Two hours later…

As Naruto stands at the exit of Wave, he remembers the agreement he had with the villagers of Wave and of Zabuza and Haku.

How the village's builders would begin working to create a new ninja village within Nami where both Zabuza and Haku teach taijutsu, kenjutsu, and stealth to any young who wanted to try to be a ninja. In addition, naruto would leave behind a blood clone to teach everyone about ki. The villagers had decided for Naruto to be their kage as a thank you for saving their village from Gato and considering his strength.

Naruto then left the Wave village for Kami's Lookout in order to gain mastery over his new Ascended Saiyan transformation. Little did he know that this new village would be greatly known throughout the elemental nations in the future. It would be known by one name…

Namigakure.

END

**I'D LIKE THE THANK RONNY214 AND NCPFAN FOR ALL THE HELP THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN MY FOR THIS STORY (IDEAS, CRITICS, ETC.)


	3. Fallout in Konoha

Namikagure, ch.3

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DRAGON BALL Z

Chapter 3: Fallout in Konoha

**In Konoha, just after Naruto's outburst…**

After they all heard Naruto's bedroom door slam shut, Minato and Kushina turned their attention to their daughter to find out if she was alright. What they saw when they got close shocked them to the core!

There was Naomi, gasping and panting in agony, favoring the ribs on her right side, while blood ran freely down her face from her nose and mouth. The right side of her jaw had swollen to more than three times its normal size, and was discolored blood-red and dark purple. Her right eye was also beginning to shut at the bottom from the swelling on her jaw and cheek.

"Naomi!" Kushina cried out in shock and fear for her daughter's health as she ran over to her and knelt down to cradle her.

Minato called out, "Tsunade! We need your help over here!"

Tsunade ran over and gasped upon seeing Naomi's condition. She immediately began making hand signs before green chakra started to envelop her right hand. Running her hand over Naomi's face and body, she turned to Minato and Kushina.

"We need to get her to the hospital! Now!" she ordered. Minato and Kushina didn't think twice. Minato picked up his daughter and both parents immediately made their way to the hospital, intent on getting their daughter the medical attention she needed.

* * *

Once Tsunade and her staff had finished patching Naomi up, Minato and Kushina bade her goodnight and left the hospital to return home, both of them furious with Naruto for hurting her so badly. Naruto had broken her jaw, fractured her cheekbone, and left her with four broken ribs! Once they returned home, they sat in the living room for hours waiting for Naruto, only leaving to check his room to see if he had snuck back in through his window. When two o'clock the next morning rolled around, both of them decided to call it a night. They would make sure that Naruto received the beating of his life for what he did to his sister!

Upon waking up that morning, both of them scoured the house, but had found no signs of Naruto. He hadn't come back home last night! Their first thoughts were that he was putting off the punishment that he knew was coming, which would only make his punishment that much worse! Minato went into the office while Kushina left to spend some time with her daughter, but not before making a shadow clone to wait for Naruto at home.

Eight hours after she had left the house, Kushina had finally returned home, only to see her shadow clone still there waiting. Her clone looked at her and shook her head in the negative before dispelling. Naruto still hadn't come back home. She went through her nightly routine as Minato came back to the house of making dinner and preparing for bed. Both Minato and Kushina each created a shadow clone to wait up all night – they were not going to miss Naruto's return home, and he was not going to get away with what he'd done!

The second day proceeded much the same way that the previous day had, with Naruto still not returning home. Upon seeing that Naruto still had not returned home by the morning of the third day, Kushina's anger turned to worry! Where was he? What would keep him away from his home for three full days? Granted, it wasn't supposed to be his home that much longer, but he certainly didn't know that, did he? And even if he did, Kushina would at least make sure this wouldn't come to be – as much of a bad apple as he was, he was still her son! And she'd be damned if she would let him be thrown out into the cold!

"Minato," she said to her husband that morning before he left for the office, "I'm starting to get worried."

"Worried? Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Our son hasn't been home in three days!"

Minato looked at her in confusion before giving her a dismissive, care-free smirk, "It's probably just as well. This isn't his home anymore, anyway; you know that."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" she snapped back indignantly, "He may not be our heir anymore, but he's still our son, and I won't allow him to be thrown out of this house!"

Minato just laughed before flashing away, leaving Kushina with a bewildered expression and a bad feeling in her gut. She decided to create two shadow clones today: one to visit Naomi and the other to wait for Naruto to hopefully return to the house. She would spend the day trying to find her son in the hope that something terrible hadn't happened.

* * *

Mikoto Uchiha was a nervous wreck! She had been wandering around frantically asking any of the people that Naruto was on good terms with if they had seen him. She had gone to the Ichirakus and talked to both of them, though they hadn't seen him, either. Teuchi and Ayame were just as worried as Mikoto was – Naruto ate lunch there every single day without fail, and something horrible must have happened for him not to show up there.

Naruto had also won over all of Teuchi's regular lunchtime patrons with his kind and friendly ways. Even those who had hated him at first couldn't help but warm up to him once they had gotten to know him. They were just as worried as Mikoto and the Ichirakus, knowing that Naruto's absence from the stand was a very bad sign. When they even closed up shop for a few days in an effort to help Mikoto look for the boy, his customers also lent what aid they could to help find him. Unfortunately, all of their efforts were for naught.

After four days of searching, Mikoto knew that if Naruto wanted to be found, he would have been by now. He had left the village. And it was all those damn Namikazes' faults!

* * *

Kushina was now beyond worried; she was frantic and terrified! It had been two full days since she'd started actively searching not only the village, but the surrounding areas in an effort to find her missing son. She became even more frantic when she started to see just how little she had thought about him before all of this happened. Last night, as she was preparing dinner, she prepared her habitual three places at the table, only to realize that Naomi was still in the hospital, so she removed one of them.

Thoughts of Naomi led her to thoughts on how she ended up in the hospital, which led her thoughts to Naruto…why hadn't she prepared a place for him at the dinner table?! Recounting as many times as she could of when she had set the table, she always saw only three places there! When was the last time she had prepared Naruto a meal?! This realization had prompted her to drop what she was doing and head back out for another round of searching right then and there! She didn't even bother creating a clone to visit Naomi or wait at the house for the next day. She hadn't spoken to Minato since then, and she hadn't spent the night at home, either, opting to search through the night and well into the morning in the hopes of finding Naruto.

The sun was currently approaching its high noonday position. As she leaped through the trees, so many questions plagued her mind: where could he have gone? Was he alright, or did something happen to him? Was he laying hurt or dead somewhere? These questions had prompted her to reflect on her relationship with him.

When she thought back, she realized that she couldn't recall any moments or times that would show the two of them as having any kind of relationship with each other – at least, none to speak of. Was there a time where she spoke to him where she wasn't…angry about something? She then started to recall all of the trouble she saw him getting into…only to realize that she had never actually seen any of it! All she had to go on concerning Naruto's troublemaking ways was hearsay! When did she ever ask Naruto's accusers to prove what had happened? And what about when she got Naruto's side of the story?

She stopped dead in her tracks as she gasped loudly. When had she ever gotten his side of the story?! Come to think of it, whenever she saw him, he never caused any trouble. In fact, any time Naomi taunted him at home, he usually ignored her or got up and walked away! In fact, what he did to Naomi on their birthday was…completely unlike anything she'd ever seen him do before! He didn't cause trouble at home, he was usually doing things like…what, exactly?

She realized that she didn't know what he did! She didn't even know what he liked to do! In fact, the only people that she knew really cared for her son were Mikoto Uchiha and the Ichirakus! And she only knew that because she saw how they responded to the announcement of Naomi's being named heir to the clan! Who were his friends? Did he even have any?!

'_Naruto, when I find you, I promise you I'm going to be a better mother to you from now on! Please, just be okay,_' she thought to herself, hoping that Naruto might by some miracle sense her sentiment.

Wait a minute – Ichirakus! If there was one thing she did know about her son, it was that Naruto loved their food! Maybe they've seen him! She began to feel a glimmer of hope as she sped back to the village intent on getting to the ramen stand. Upon returning to the village, she made her way to the ramen stand…only to see the metal gates pulled down with a sign posted saying, "Closed until Monday"?!

Why? Why did Teuchi close up shop? That wasn't like him. He loved his job, and the only reasons she could think of for him to ever close up shop would be that he was on his death bed or in the hospital, or if Ayame was sick or…missing? Missing?! Was he also searching for Naruto?! He hadn't even come here?!

Kushina began to hyperventilate as terror-stricken panic seemed to seize her. She collapsed to her knees and put her hand to her chest in an effort to calm herself. As she closed her eyes, she worked as hard as she could to calm herself down. She took deliberate, painstakingly slow breaths. She thought of happy times, happy places. She made a concerted last-ditch effort to calm herself down by imagining all of the happy times that she would have, and the happy memories that she would create with Naruto as soon as she found him and brought him home! Sensing herself growing calmer and relaxing, she slowly stood up and worked to get her bearings. Looking around, she saw that many of the passersby had stopped and were looking at her in concern.

"I'm fine, everyone," she reassured them all, prompting them to all to go on their way, before she called out and stopped them all, "Wait a moment!"

As they stopped and turned to her, she asked them all with genuine concern, "I don't suppose any of you have seen my son in the last few days, have you?"

They all responded in the negative, thought some did it with a sneer or a derogatory comment about how they hadn't seen the 'worthless demon trash' or other such insults. Such comments caused Kushina to release some killing intent unconsciously, making everyone move along rather quickly.

'_Well, who else can I talk to that might know something?_' she thought to herself once more as she went through the people she knew in her mind.

It suddenly hit her, '_Mikoto!_'

But that idea went just as quickly as it came, '_No. She just lost her entire clan except for her son. She has enough to worry about right now. I should leave her alone. But I'm running out of options. What should I do? I can't think of anyone else, and Ichiraku's doesn't open again for three more days!_'

She moved on, choosing to continue searching on her own until the ramen stand opened back up.

* * *

Eight days. It had been eight days since the twins' birthday, and there was still no sign of Naruto anywhere! Minato had told her to give up, as Naruto wasn't their problem anymore. He had learned the hard way that this was the wrong thing to say to the frantic mother.

Kushina had almost gone feral when Minato had told her to "give up on finding the failure", catching him completely off guard, throwing him to the ground and kicking him where it would hurt the most: his jewels! She had relentlessly assaulted his groin before attacking his face and beating him black, blue and bloody. Only when the ANBU had showed up when Minato flared his chakra had Kushina been restrained and the Hokage brought to the hospital to receive medical attention.

The injuries to his face weren't serious – he would heal from those without even scarring. But his manhood was another matter. Minato didn't even want to know the extent of the damage to his goods, but he walked out of the hospital with the knowledge that he would never father children ever again. That had angered him, but this was his wife. He loved her, and he had kept things from her. He thought that maybe what she'd done to him was fair, and that maybe she'd call it even after being so upset from what Minato had persuaded her to do in endorsing his plan of naming Naomi their heir.

Naomi was still in the hospital undergoing observation. Minato would be coming out of the hospital today, no doubt expecting an apology from her for his injuries. Kushina chuckled bitterly at the idea – there was no way in hell that she would give him one. What she did to him, he had coming! And if he didn't change his ways quickly, she might just leave him and move out – that way, she could give Naruto a new home without fear of Minato and Naomi making things hard for him.

Ichiraku Ramen came into her sight, and to her relief, the stand was open. She ran to the stand and pulled the flap open, allowing her entry.

She looked around, seeing several people eating several variations of Teuchi's delectable noodles. Her eyes stopped as they focused on a head of flowing black hair.

"Mikoto!" she called out, running up to the bar next to her friend and taking the empty seat to her right.

"You…" she responded coldly when she caught sight of Kushina, "…what do _you_ want?"

Kushina was unnerved at the coldness in Mikoto's expression, as well as the disgust in her voice. Finding her courage, Kushina replied, "Mikoto, listen…I'm so sorry about your clan and family. I know that you're going through a difficult time right now, but…"

"You think my feelings towards you have anything to do with my grieving over my…" Mikoto began incredulously, interrupting Kushina before being interrupted herself.

"Mikoto, have you seen my son since his birthday?!"

Mikoto's eyes went wide in shock. She couldn't believe the audacity of this woman who threw her son out of her home and family without even so much as a guilty look! But on the other hand, she could hear the desperation in Kushina's question. Upon looking more closely at Kushina, it was easy to see the dark circles under her eyes, and that her skin was paler than usual. She was exhausted and frightened – she hadn't slept well in days. She also looked thinner, indicating that she wasn't eating right, either.

Mikoto's flabbergasted gape softened into a confused frown, "Why do you even care? It's not like you ever cared before."

Kushina's desperation caused her to yell at the woman, "Look, I don't know what you think of me at the moment, and to be honest, that doesn't matter right now! I have no idea where my son is, and I've been running myself ragged trying to find him! Do you know where he is or not?!"

Mikoto yelled back, "You've already made it public knowledge that you don't want to concern yourself with him anymore! You kicked him out of your family and out of your home!"

"No, I didn't kick him out of my home, and I'm not going to! He may have stopped being our heir, but that doesn't change the fact that he's my son! I know what's usually done when a living heir is removed, but I'm not going to let that happen to him!" she yelled back, prompting Mikoto to stand and drum Kushina across the face with her open right hand, sending her out of her seat and sprawling to the floor.

While this was happening, murmurs could be heard from the other patrons. Kushina was rather surprised to hear some of the questions being asked.

"The Hokage and his wife kicked Naruto out?"

"Why would they do that to a great kid like Naruto?"

"How could the Hokage do that to his son and then preach about how the village is like a family?"

"Shocked, are you?!" Mikoto shouted at the top of her lungs, now enraged at Kushina, "That was how Naruto felt when you slapped him! And don't you dare try to insult my intelligence by telling me that you intend to keep Naruto at home after you've banished him from your clan and family! You know full well that when an heir is banished from a clan, that you no longer have any legal right to provide them with shelter!"

"What?" Kushina breathed out, in shock at this revelation as tears began to escape her eyes, "No…I…I didn't know…no, that can't be…"

"What the hell's going on out there?!" Teuchi could be heard yelling from the back as he came running up to the front of the store so he could see what all the commotion was about. Ayame was hot on his heels.

Kushina leaped to her feet, forgetting about Mikoto's slap and called out in a tear-filled yell, "Teuchi!"

"Kushina?!" he exclaimed, surprised at her appearance, despite the fact that he didn't want her in his stand, "You have a…"

Kushina immediately interrupted him, tears of frightened desperation flowing freely down her face, "Teuchi, please! I need to know if you know anything at all about where my son is! I've been searching for him six days, and I haven't slept at all in the last three! I've searched the village high and low, and I've also searched every square inch in a thirty-mile radius! Please, if you know anything, tell me where he is!"

She broke down into sobs and collapsed to her knees. Neither Mikoto nor Teuchi could remain angry at the pathetic sight before them. Ayame, however, was a different story.

"If you haven't found him by now, you're never going to!" she yelled, prompting Kushina to open her eyes and bring her head up to look at the girl, though she didn't stop sobbing.

Ayame continued, "The only thing we can say for sure is that he's left the village! If he doesn't want to be found, he's not going to be! And I'm sure that you and that…" Ayame gritted her teeth, "…that…fucking monster that you're married to are the last people he wants to be found by! Get out of our stand! You and your family aren't welcome here anymore!"

Kushina winced and cried even harder at Ayame's cruel words. Ayame simply turned on her heel and ran into the back, crying herself. She looked to Teuchi and Mikoto with a pleading look in her eyes. The two of them looked conflicted in their feelings. On the one hand, they'd seen the callousness with which she could treat her son, but on the other hand, they'd never seen her this concerned or this frantic over anyone before, not even Naomi.

"Please…" Kushina pleaded more quietly, "…I know you're both angry with me, and you have every right to be. I know that up to now, I've failed Naruto as a mother. Since I've been searching, I've had nothing but time to think about things. As I said, I…I haven't slept, I…I've been…eating erratically…I've…I've…" she began to wobble unsteadily before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed.

Mikoto, thankfully, was able to move fast enough to catch her. She looked at Teuchi, who looked bewildered, not knowing what to think about this whole scenario.

Mikoto put a hand to Kushina's forehead and snapped her gaze to Teuchi, "She's burning up!"

Mikoto reached out with her chakra to see if she could get a read on Kushina's condition, "And her chakra's almost depleted! I don't think she was kidding when she said she hasn't been sleeping or eating!"

"Ayame!" Teuchi called to his daughter, who came back out after a few seconds. It was clear that she'd been crying, but she immediately stopped when she saw a passed out Kushina being held up by Mikoto.

Teuchi instructed his daughter, "I need you to handle things here for a while. We need to get Kushina to the hospital!"

Ayame just nodded dumbly as Teuchi took Kushina from Mikoto's arms while she flared her chakra brilliantly so that an ANBU could respond and find them. When a Hawk-masked ANBU came, he saw Kushina's condition. Without even needing to be told what to do, he grabbed the woman, said one word, "Hospital" to Mikoto and Teuchi who both nodded, and used shunshin to take Kushina to the hospital. Mikoto placed a hand on Teuchi and used shunshin herself to get the two of them there faster.

On the street just outside the ramen stand, one Asuma Sarutobi was just returning from a mission, and just happened to overhear the conversation that took place inside the ramen stand. He didn't like what he heard at all, and decided that his report could wait. He could use a meal, and it sounded like the ramen stand would also be the best place to get some answers.

* * *

Kushina had been admitted to Konoha Hospital for chakra depletion, sleep deprivation and dehydration. She really hadn't been taking care of her most basic needs in her preoccupation towards finding her son. Neither Teuchi nor Mikoto had any idea what to make of this. Was it possible that Kushina really didn't know that it was against the law in Konoha to allow a disowned clan heir to live on clan property?

They had been waiting for two hours in the hospital's main lobby, waiting to hear on Kushina's condition. As they were waiting, they saw Minato making his way through the main lobby on his way out. He looked terrible: his face was bruised and discolored black, blue and dark purple, and he waddled from side to side, grimacing with each step, as though walking was extremely painful for him. When had he been admitted to the hospital, and why? Both of them looked at the man with loathing and utter disgust.

Minato caught sight of the two and waved at them with a friendly smile. As he made his way over to them, Mikoto's face morphed into a furious grimace as she marched right up to him and slapped him hard across the fact…right before spitting in it, shocking not only the Hokage, but every onlooker in the room.

"What was that all about, Mikoto?" he asked, stunned to near-silence by her shocking actions.

"You know what that was about, you evil fucking monster!" Mikoto screamed at him, causing him to recoil in further surprise while murmurs could be heard all around, "That was for kicking your son out of your family so heartlessly!"

Again, the rumors could be heard.

"The Hokage did what to his son?"

"But he's always talking about how the village is a family. Would he really do something like that?"

"If he did that to his own son, what would he do to the rest of us if it suited him?"

Minato started feeling apprehensive at the comments going around. He turned to Mikoto and told her discretely, "Can we talk about this more at another time, and in an area that's not so public?"

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?!" Mikoto yelled back, "What's wrong?! Too much of a coward to take responsibility for your actions?! Huh?!"

"This is neither the time nor the place, Mikoto!" Minato growled back through gritted teeth.

"And why is…" Mikoto began anew, only to stop when Teuchi put a hand on her shoulder. He gave her an understanding glance, at which she turned around and walked off, returning to her seat.

"Thanks, Teuchi," Minato expressed.

Teuchi's response was to face the Hokage with a grim expression, "From this day forward, you and your family are no longer welcome in my establishment! Don't ever show your faces there, again!"

"Teuchi, come on!" Minato objected.

"No! Not after what you did to your son! Unlike you, we love Naruto, and his persecutors are our enemies, too!"

Teuchi also returned to his seat after having said what he needed to say. Minato again looked around and caught a few additional murmurs that everyone else in the lobby was uttering out.

"It looks like our Hokage isn't who he claims to be."

"How could he and his family be so hypocritical?"

"What's the big deal? So he threw the demon out of his family…"

That last comment made Mikoto snap. She charged at the man who said it, enraged, and proceeded to pound him senseless. It took a couple of ANBU and several orderlies to remove Mikoto from the man and restrain her while they took him back for immediate treatment. Most of them remarked at the irony of the situation: a man actually got injured and severely beaten at the hospital. Mikoto didn't know what his condition was – she frankly didn't care.

Minato left the hospital to the ANBU that was outside waiting for him so that he could get to his office. On his way out, however, he couldn't help but ponder what had happened. He never anticipated such a backlash for kicking the failure out of his house – he didn't realize that there were so many people in the village that actually liked the boy, despite his own efforts. If this kept up, he might be dealing with riots, and possibly even civil war, depending on how this whole situation might escalate. He was no fool – he knew how quickly word spread in his village, and if the people's responses in the hospital were any indicator, then rough times were indeed ahead.

His future as Hokage was starting to look a little more uncertain. He needed to start planning to keep his village under control. Naomi was the Child of Prophecy, so setting her aside for her failure of a brother was not an option that he even going to entertain. He would not allow Naruto back into the family, and he would not acknowledge that he did anything wrong! But if he didn't do that, then what would happen?

There was no point in thinking about that right now. He needed to get back to work. He could use his power as Hokage to contain this situation, and for now, that would have to do.

* * *

Roughly an hour later, Shizune came into the lobby and called for Mikoto and Teuchi. Both of them responded immediately and went to her.

"Kushina is going to be fine. We're rehydrating her and feeding her intravenously, and she's currently asleep in the recovery ward," she explained to the two of them.

"Thank you, Shizune. When will she be able to receive visitors?" Mikoto asked, relieved that Kushina would be okay.

"Well, my guess is that she'll be out for at least the next several hours. You're welcome to wait in her room until she wakes up. It's room 247 just down this hallway."

"We'd like that," Teuchi answered before adding, "Oh, and we saw the Hokage coming out of the lobby – he looked pretty banged up. Can you tell us anything about that?"

Shizune pursed her lips together before asking the two of them to follow her into an empty room. Once they were in there, she closed the door and explained what she knew: that Minato told her to "give up on finding the failure because he wasn't their problem anymore", that Kushina had attacked Minato in a rage, and sterilized him through brute force.

Both Mikoto and Teuchi were beyond shocked at this. Maybe Kushina's intentions towards her son were good, after all? They both thanked Shizune for telling them and gave her their word that they wouldn't breathe a word of the conversation to anyone. It wouldn't do for Shizune to be barred from practicing medicine because she broke doctor/patient confidentiality, after all.

The pair of them made their way to Kushina's room to wait for her to awaken. Upon seeing her unconscious form with tubes and needles protruding from her body, they both felt saddened that events had brought her to this. However, this didn't change the fact that they were both quite angry, and they would demand answers from the woman once she was conscious again.

* * *

Asuma wasn't a happy man at the moment; not in the least! His parents kicked Naruto out of their family by naming his sister their heir? What the hell were they thinking? Minato was no different than his own father, the bastard that he was! In fact, Minato was worse! At least his old man never kicked any of his kids out of the house for completely groundless reasons! He simply ignored and neglected all of them while they were growing up – and even though he was cold to them, Asuma knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't heartless. He loved them – he just consciously made the decision to love the village more!

But Minato? How the hell were his shinobi supposed to respect the leadership of a man who would sell out and betray his own flesh and blood when it suited him?! Did he really expect his shinobi to follow orders that could lead them to their deaths if he wasn't willing to lead them there and possibly die himself?!

Asuma didn't like the fact that most of the missions he was sent on were extended-length missions that took place outside the village. He always wanted to be here so that he could help Naruto out more. He knew the boy was wicked smart, and a lot stronger and more skilled than he let on. In fact, he wanted to be the boy's jounin sensei once he graduated from the Academy so that he could play a bigger role in unleashing the boy's full potential. He knew it in his gut – Naruto was greatness itself, just waiting to come out; a huge chunk of diamond waiting to be etched and polished!

Asuma couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he recalled the first time he met the monkey-tailed boy…

**Flashback no Jutsu**

"_So you're Naruto Namikaze, huh?" Asuma asked a six-year-old Naruto Namikaze with a friendly smile. He had heard about the boy through several people, most of them derogatory towards the boy, although Mikoto Uchiha and the Ichirakus seemed to like him. Intrigued by this child, Asuma, for some reason, felt compelled to search for him and introduce himself. He'd found him when he sensed a "different" chakra signature coming from one of the training grounds, where he now found himself._

"_Yeah, that's me…" Naruto began somewhat warily, which Asuma noticed, "…and you are?"_

"_Asuma Sarutobi, kiddo. Nice to meet ya," he introduced himself and extended his hand for the boy to shake._

"_You too, Mr. Sarutobi," Naruto replied, again somewhat warily, though he took the hand offered to him and shook it._

_Asuma laughed and told the boy, "You can just call me Asuma, Naruto. I've heard a good little bit about you."_

_Naruto's eyes narrowed into a frown at that, "Do you believe everything you hear?"_

"_Actually, no I don't," Asuma answered him straightforwardly, "I prefer to make judgments based on my own observations rather than on hearsay."_

_Seeing that Asuma meant what he just said, Naruto's frown became a confused one, "You're…not like the other villagers."_

"_So I've seen. I've actually been away from the village for a while. I just finished serving as one of the Guardian Ninja Twelve, so I've spent the last eight years in the Capital with the Daimyo and his family."_

"_Really?!" Naruto suddenly became excited, "Wow, I've heard you have to be, like, crazy strong to be part of the Guardians!"_

_Asuma, for his part, was impressed, "I'm surprised that someone your age knows of us. That's quite impressive."_

_Naruto simply smiled and scratched the back of his head somewhat sheepishly, "Yeah…well…"_

_Asuma just studied the boy before him. After a few moments, his gaze landed on Naruto's tail. Naruto noticed where his gaze landed and began to grow angry._

"_Yeah, I've got a tail! The villagers love to make fun of me for it! Is that what you came here to do?!"_

"_Whoa, easy there," Asuma responded calmly, raising his hands is a peace-making gesture, "That's not what I came here for at all. In fact, I think your tail is pretty cool. Did you know that we Sarutobi are known for having monkey summons as partners?"_

"_Okay, now that's cool!" Naruto exclaimed, completely changing his tune, before he asked, "Could you show me?"_

_Asuma thought for a moment before answering, "Meh, why not?"_

_With that, Asuma went through the hand signs for the summoning, placed his hand on the ground and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!"_

_With a poof of smoke, a huge Ape appeared wearing a Konoha headband. Said Ape turned to Asuma and asked, "Asuma, what is the reason you have summoned me?"_

"_King Enma, I wanted to introduce you to Naruto Namikaze, the son of the Fourth Hokage," Asuma responded, extending his arm to point in Naruto's direction._

_Enma's eyes followed Asuma's arm and landed on the boy in question, immediately taking notice of the tail behind him that was wagging back and forth unconsciously._

"_A human with a monkey's tail? Interesting; I've never seen such a thing, before," he observed as he immediately snatched Naruto up…by the tail._

"_GYAAAHHHH!" Naruto bellowed out in pain, "LEMMEGO, LEMMEGO, LEMMEGO!"_

_Enma immediately dropped Naruto, who gently cradled his mangled tail in his hands and rubbed it gingerly._

"_My apologies, boy. I didn't realize that your tail was so sensitive," Enma offered._

"_Yeah," Naruto replied through his pain-filled grimace, "Any time someone grabs my tail, my whole body freezes up in pain; I can't stand it."_

"_Might I offer a suggestion, then?" Enma asked._

"_Yes, sir."_

"_If your tail is long enough for you to wrap around your waist and tuck the end underneath the base, then try doing that. It would keep your tail out of the way, and it wouldn't give anyone a protrusion to grab onto."_

_Naruto stared at King Enma before adopting a thoughtful expression, "Sir, I think I might just try that. Thank you."_

_Enma nodded before leaving Naruto with one last tidbit, "I look forward to hopefully seeing you in the future, Naruto Namikaze. You appear to have more in common with my kin than other humans."_

_And with that, he vanished, leaving Naruto and Asuma alone once more. Asuma walked Naruto back into town and treated him to ramen before walking him back home._

**Kai**

Minato Namikaze was going to get a piece of Asuma Sarutobi's mind the moment he was done giving his report!

* * *

Minato was getting extremely annoyed. Why? One of his ninja, Asuma Sarutobi, had signed back in to the village over three hours ago, and he still had not reported in to be debriefed on his mission! He didn't like it when his shinobi didn't follow protocol in a timely manner – it was something that always annoyed him about Kakashi, but at one of his best jounin and his student, he could let it slide. Asuma, being at or near Kakashi's level, could also be allowed some leeway, though it didn't mean Minato had to like it.

An hour had passed since Minato had gone back into his office, and he was feeling much calmer, now that he was settling into his normal routine. He never thought he would be grateful for excessive paperwork that would keep him away from his home. He was glad for the distraction that work provided him: no crazy wives looking to permanently injure him, nobody to spit in his face or ban him and his family from their businesses, no comments on how he was a monster or a terrible father, or anything of the like – just sheets of paper with little scribbles of ink on them that he could stamp and sign. The irony of his looking forward to doing paperwork wasn't lost on him.

He decided to take a break after finishing the biggest stack of papers. He sat there, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. His mind began to wander back to how everything in his home and life had just gone to hell after that little bastard knocked his baby girl around and landed her in the hospital: Naomi's absence at home, followed by Kushina's getting worried about Naruto, her staying out of the house and not cooking, her beating and sterilizing him after he told her to give up on the worthless little failure that he kicked out of his family, Mikoto and Teuchi saying the things they said to him, and in public, no less!

What the hell was going on? First of all, Kushina never worried about Naruto before, so why did she get worried now of all times? And what was that stupidity about keeping him there at the house? What did she expect to happen to him? Did she really think that he was just going to let Naruto stay there under his roof when he was no longer part of the family?! And then, why did she beat him so mercilessly when he told her to stop looking for him? It's not like it mattered whether he was found or not, and he was no longer their problem, so why? Mikoto and Teuchi, he could understand to a degree, as they, for reasons that were beyond him, were both rather fond of Naruto.

Minato was brought out of his thoughts as his door opened. The object of his annoyed thoughts, Asuma Sarutobi, entered and closed the door behind him.

"Jounin Asuma Sarutobi reporting in. My mission was successful," he offered with a bow to his commander.

"Excellent Asuma. Please give me the details."

Asuma reported the details of his mission, while Minato nodded in approval at Asuma's actions and the facts of the mission.

"Congratulations on a mission well done, Asuma. You're dismissed," Minato offered, but Asuma had more to say

"Hokage-sama, there is something else that I would like to speak to you about. Please don't interrupt me until I'm done. This is a matter that's rather personal to me," says Asuma in a serious tone.

"Go ahead and get whatever you need to say off your chest," said Minato, curious as to what he is going to say.

"Okay," he took a deep breath before he bellowed out, using wind chakra to increase the volume of his voice, "What the fuck is wrong with you?! When I heard that a new Hokage had been appointed, I had hoped that he wouldn't commit the same sins his predecessor did, which was sacrificing his family for the sake of his village!"

"Excuse me?!" Minato asked in shock.

Asuma continued, not lowering the volume of his voice at all, "I mean, come on! What's the point of having the village love you if your family is in shambles?! How could you do what you did to Naruto?! He did nothing to deserve it, and what's more, how in the hell can you expect any of us to respect your leadership if you're willing to betray your son and sell him out just because it suits you?!"

Minato gave Asuma a warning glare, "That sounds an awful lot like treason to me, Asuma."

"It's not treason, you idiot! It's just the logical conclusion that any Leaf Shinobi worth their salt would draw from all of this! It's what I'm already starting to hear all over the village! And frankly, they're right!"

Minato stood up and looked Asuma dead in the eye, "I did this because I knew that my daughter would be very important to this world; that she would save it if she was on the right path."

"So you're trying to make your daughter into something that could well be beyond her abilities and her character?!" Asuma said in disgust, "And because of your idiotic delusions, your _only _son had to suffer and be beaten right under your nose?!"

Minato simply looks away, not meeting his eyes, "I'm a Clan Head, and the Hokage! I don't have to explain myself to anyone, least of all you."

Asuma narrowed his eyes as he studied the man in front of him before asking in a low voice, "I know the face of a criminal who's about to be exposed when I see one. What exactly aren't you telling me?"

"You're standing on dangerous ground, right now, Jounin Sarutobi," Minato warned him through gritted teeth, "Leave this office immediately before you say something you're going to regret."

Asuma just turned on his heel and walked toward the door, but stopped before he left, "Your words are going to come back and bite you in the ass one day. And when they do, I'll be there to laugh my ass off at your stupidity, and gloat at your utter and well-deserved ruin!"

With that, he left the room, not even giving Minato the chance to respond. He didn't like that look in Minato's eyes as he talked about his daughter in comparison to his son – there was something sinister about it. The fact that he said he didn't need to explain himself concerning his son's beatings when he had the full power and authority to stop them also didn't sit well with him. Was it possible that he not only allowed the beatings to take place, but might have even had a hand in causing them?

Two complete disappointments – the Third, and the Fourth. Asuma knew what the village needed in its Hokage: the Leaf needed a Hokage like the First and Second – men that didn't sacrifice family for the village, and at the same time, men that didn't sacrifice the village for family, either. They sacrificed themselves so that neither the village nor their families had to suffer or be sacrificed.

It suddenly struck Asuma: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself! He was at least as talented as his father, or even as Minato, in the shinobi arts. He was certainly better at Taijutsu than either one of them, particularly armed Taijutsu, and he had far greater mastery over his elements than either of them did as well. While he didn't use Fuinjutsu a lot, it was an area that he had some skill in, and it came pretty easily to him as a discipline of study.

His mind was made up: if someone needed to perform the job of Hokage right, then by Kami, he would be the one to do it! And he would ensure that Naruto was given justice and restitution for these atrocities and affronts that were committed against him. It was time for a Fifth Hokage to take the hat!

He walked out of Hokage tower to begin planning his investigation of Minato's actions, as well as to make plans to seriously vamp up his training. If he wanted to be Hokage, he would have to be able to at least stand toe-to-toe with Minato Namikaze in battle, if not best him. He had to be in a position to take the hat before he involved the Daimyo in getting Minato removed from office – he couldn't take the chance that yet another disappointment would be given the job if he got the Daimyo involved too soon.

On his way to his home, it occurred to him that the Hokage's wife had been taken to the hospital. Based on what he overheard of her conversation in the ramen stand, he thought she might be interested to know about the conversation he just had with her husband in his office, as well as the suspicions that it brought. He changed direction, heading for the hospital.

* * *

Kushina slowly opened her eyes as she returned to consciousness. Blinking at the glaring lights, she took a minute to let her eyesight adjust before looking around to get her bearings. She could see various medical machines of all kinds, with tubes that seemed to be connected to her. Looking herself over, she saw that there were several needles in her arms, secreting various chemicals and fluids into her bloodstream.

'_Why am I in the hospital? How did I get here?_' she asked herself as she continued to look around the room. Her gaze landed on the two people she could last remember interacting with: Mikoto Uchiha and Teuchi Ichiraku. Both of them were sitting on the other side of the room, not facing her.

"Mikoto? Teuchi?" she asked tiredly, garnering their attention. Both of them turned to look her way in response to hearing her voice.

"Welcome back, Kushina," Mikoto offered softly with a sympathetic smile, "How do you feel?"

"Drained…" Kushina responded with a weak smile before adding with a shiver, "…and kind of cold. Is there another blanket in here, anywhere?"

"I'll get you one, Kushina," Teuchi responded as he got up and went into the closet, pulling two extra blankets and bringing them to Kushina before unfolding them and placing them over her.

"Thank you, Teuchi," she responded gratefully.

With a sad smile, Teuchi simply nodded before returning to his seat. Mikoto stepped out of the room to inform one of the staff on duty that Kushina had woken up.

Kushina turned her gaze to Teuchi and asked, "Did you and Mikoto bring me here?"

"That's right…" Teuchi began, "…we also found out what you did to Minato in your son's defense a few days ago as well. Listen, maybe we were both a little hasty in condemning you…"

Kushina interrupted him, "No, Teuchi. You weren't. Nothing you said to me was unfair. I've already thought about most of the things you and Mikoto said to me. I realized that I never did get concrete evidence of any wrongdoing by Naruto, and I never did get his side of the story, either. It hurt me so much to realize…" her eyes began to well up once again, "…that I can't even remember when I might have had a single interaction with Naruto that was happy. I don't really know how things came to this, either. But what hurts the most…is that I realized that I don't even know my son."

Kushina sniffled as her voice started to break once more, but before she could continue, Mikoto walked in with none other than Tsunade.

"Hi, Kushina," Tsunade offered warmly before frowning in concern, "What's wrong?"

She began to sob out, "I'm the world's worst mother!"

Tsunade frowned in surprise before responding, "Kushina, that's not true. You're a great mother to Naomi…"

Kushina interrupted her, raising her voice, "Naomi's not my only child!"

Tsunade flinched at her outburst, as well as at the look of agonizing torment on her face. Kushina continued, "I was a terrible mother to Naruto! Why didn't I care for my son?!"

She looked Tsunade dead in the eye, "Why didn't **you** care for my son?! Why didn't anyone in this…family of monsters…love him?! Why were Mikoto and the Ichirakus the only people who cared about my baby boy?!"

Kushina couldn't continue, as she simply broke down into bawling, wracking sobs. Mikoto moved over to her bedside and put her arms around her friend, allowing her to weep into her shoulder and chest while stroking her head and rubbing her back in an effort to soothe and comfort her. Teuchi followed suit a few moments later, laying a comforting hand on Kushina's shoulder.

Tsunade was stricken. Did Kushina really think of her family as monsters? As her daughter's godparents, that would include her and Jiraiya! Wait a minute – weren't they also Naruto's godparents?! But then, why did she act as though Minato and Kushina only had one child? Granted, she rarely if ever saw Naruto – he just wasn't ever at home, but…still! Could she really have put the boy out of her mind to such a degree that she didn't even ponder his existence? Granted, she knew just like everyone else that he was a troublemaker, but even most troublemakers only became troublemakers for the attention that causing trouble brought to them.

Tsunade's face morphed into a horrified gape: they really had neglected him to that degree! What had they done?! She needed to talk to Jiraiya about this as soon as possible.

"Kushina," Tsunade began, trying to hold back tears of her own and garnering the redhead's attention, "You're right. We did neglect and ignore him, but it's not too late for us to change. Where is he at the moment? We can go get him and we can show him that we do care for him…"

"Tsunade, that isn't possible right now," Mikoto interrupted her.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked in response, tears of fear beginning to roll down her face.

"The reason that Kushina is in here is because for the last week, she's pushed herself to exhaustion and even to near-death in an effort to find Naruto so that she could bring him home. This is the first time she's slept in four days, and she had depleted her chakra to keep herself moving. She's searched the village high and low, and even scoured the countryside and forests thirty miles out in every direction," she explained before finishing with grim firmness, "Naruto is long gone."

"How could he be long gone?!" Tsunade demanded, "He's a child! How will he survive out there?! How will he be able to keep himself safe?!"

A new voice, unmistakable male, answered her question, "Naruto's much, much more powerful than you can imagine, Lady Tsunade."

All four of the room's occupants turned to the sound of the voice, all of them surprised to see who the owner of it was.

"Asuma Sarutobi?" Kushina asked, confused by his sudden appearance, "What brings you here? And…what do you know about my son?"

Asuma sighed before coming into the room and closing the door. He placed a silencing seal on the wall beside the door and activated it.

Once done with that, he turned to the room's occupants and began to answer, "I met Naruto a few years back when he was training in one of the more out-of-the-way training grounds. He's one very determined boy, and he's also quite powerful and talented. I planned on being his jounin sensei once he graduated from the Academy because I wanted to help him realize his full potential."

He looked at all four of the room's occupants and stated with conviction, "Naruto will without a doubt become the single most powerful shinobi that this village has ever produced. Even the first two Hokages will pale in comparison to what Naruto will become – that's the kind of potential Naruto possesses, and I think it's a shame and a crime that that potential hasn't even been tapped yet."

Kushina and Tsunade looked on in awe and surprise. Did Naruto truly possess that kind of potential? How was it that they didn't even notice? They knew the answer to the question as soon as they asked it of themselves – they didn't care enough to look. Mikoto and Teuchi, on the other hand, both wore knowing and admiring smiles, feeling in their guts that what Asuma said was indeed true.

Asuma regarded them all once more, "Can I count on your discretion? All of you?"

They all frowned in confusion or in thought before nodding in the affirmative.

"Alright, then. What's discussed here stays here for now, agreed?"

Again, a round of nods was his response.

"Lady Kushina, if you don't mind telling me, why exactly did you strip Naruto of his inheritance and give it to his sister? And what were your plans for him afterwards?"

Kushina looked down and closed her eyes, collecting her thoughts before beginning, "Well…my reasons for it were due to the reputation that Naruto had developed throughout the village as a…violent delinquent. People everywhere were accusing him of bringing shame to our family, and so Minato talked to me about naming Naomi our heir, so that our family's honor and good name would be preserved. I was still going to allow him to live at home with his family – even if he wasn't our heir anymore, he's still my son, and I wasn't about to let him be thrown out of his own house. In Uzushio, there were many Uzumakis who were disinherited for whatever reason, but we never threw them out of our homes! They were family, and we didn't do that to them!"

"Kushina, who was it that told you that Naruto was a problem child?" Mikoto asked curiously.

"Most everyone I talked to in the village – passersby, village councilors, you name it."

"So you took the word of people who despise him and would gladly gut him with a smile over that of your son? Your own flesh and blood?"

Kushina snapped up and looked Mikoto dead in the eye, "Mikoto, do you really think I hadn't thought about that?! It's just that literally everyone I would talk to would tell me the same thing, and different eyewitnesses that I talked to at different times would have stories that match, and that would also check out – as in, Naruto was where they said he was at the time of these altercations, and they would say who was involved, and the names would all match up. He would always come home with cuts and bruises as well! It was all just so…perfect that none of it could have been made up!"

"But what if it was in fact fabricated?" Asuma asked nobody in particular, his finger to his chin as he looked down in thought.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"Think about it for a minute," Asuma explained, "Teuchi, Ayame told me about the time where Naruto beat down three chunin and two full-grown civilian men when he was…what, seven?"

"You see? It's things like that that I'm talking about!" Kushina exclaimed in an effort to defend her reasoning.

"Kushina," Teuchi turned to her, "The reason Naruto did that to those men was because they were in the process of tearing off my little girl's clothes so that they could rape her!"

Both Kushina's and Tsunade's eyes went wide. Kushina, in shock, breathed out, "What?"

"That's right," Teuchi answer her matter-of-factly, "Naruto beat those men up defending my daughter's virtue and dignity."

"But that…" Kushina began to look this way and that in an effort to wrap her mind around this new information, "…why…why wasn't I told?"

"You never gave Naruto the chance to tell you," Mikoto answered.

"No, that's not what I mean," Kushina responded, "I mean, yes, of course I should have given him the chance to explain himself, but…why wasn't I told by anyone else?"

"It is rather strange that a crime committed by Leaf shinobi against a Leaf citizen within the village walls wasn't made public record, isn't it? Especially when it's required by law?" Asuma offered.

"But how can that be?" Tsunade asked, "That's a situation where even if Naruto had been allowed to explain, only Teuchi and Ayame would have backed him, and Kushina might not have believed him anyway – precisely because there's no public record of such an event!"

"Do you still think that fabrication of Naruto's…behavioral issues is too far-fetched to be believed?" Asuma asked, bringing them all to the conclusion that they knew to be true.

"And aside from that, Lady Kushina, you mentioned that Naruto always came home with bruises and injuries from his so-called fights with other children or bullies, is that right?"

"That's right," Kushina answered.

"And yet he hospitalized three chunin-level shinobi and two full-grown civilian men…and walked away from the encounter without so much as a scratch. See where I'm going with this?"

Kushina and Tsunade both gasped. Tsunade was the one to answer, "Naruto…he couldn't have gotten his injuries from fighting children or even teenagers! He couldn't have been injured unless…" Tsunade pondered a moment, "…unless he let them do it?"

Asuma nodded in the affirmative.

"But why would he let people hurt him?!" Kushina asked in desperation, "And why didn't he come and talk to me about it?! I'm his mother – I would have helped him or done something!"

"Kushina, would you really?" Mikoto asked patiently.

Kushina looked stricken at the question, while Tsunade looked indignant.

"You didn't know any of this before," Mikoto proceeded to explain herself, "You always operated under the assumption that Naruto was causing trouble. You would have simply thought that he was lying and trying to lay blame elsewhere. Aside from that, the reason that Naruto let them do it is because he's not a violent boy – unless he has very good reason to be. He probably stood there and let his attackers beat him up. He's always healed and been made stronger after every beating somehow, anyway. If you were to ask Naomi just what she did to provoke Naruto into hurting her so badly, I somehow think that you'd find her answer interesting."

Kushina's face morphed into a saddened grimace as her eyes welled up once more. She hung her head and began to cry once more as she lamented through her tears, "What have I done?"

This time it was Tsunade who came to her bedside and wrapped her arms around the woman in soothing comfort. Tsunade began to shed tears of her own. Her own blissful ignorance of the situation was now causing her own heart to break as guilt made itself known.

Several minutes later, Asuma began once more, "I'm afraid there's more."

Kushina looked at him and steeled her gaze directly at him, "Please tell me everything. I want to know it all. I need to know."

"Your husband is somehow involved in all of this. I wouldn't be surprised if he's involved your daughter as well."

Kushina's eyes went wide in shock. She began to hyperventilate once more, though this time, Tsunade was quick to find a paper bag for her to breathe into. Giving her the bag, Kushina put it to her lips and blew her exhale into it, immediately inhaling what she had just exhaled. After a minute of this, she had calmed down once more.

"Listen, I know this is a lot to spring on you…" Asuma began.

"No! Please don't stop, Asuma," Kushina interrupted him, "I want to hear what you have to say."

Asuma thought for a moment, then nodded, "Alright. As I said, I don't know the reasons, but I know that Minato is involved in all of these events somehow."

"You think he swept them under the rug, or just ignored them?" Kushina asked fearfully.

"No, I know for a fact that he did those things – he as much as admitted it to me. What I think is that his involvement is actually far worse than that. I think he might have had a major part in even orchestrating these fabrications," Asuma told them all gravely.

"No…no, that can't be…please, it can't be…" Kushina began to grow frantic again until Mikoto once more wrapped her arms around her friend, allowing her to cry once more if she needed to.

Asuma continued sorrowfully, "I'm sorry. I really am. But…when I confronted him about it today…well, he had the look of a guilty criminal who was about to be exposed. He even tried to threaten me when I brought it up."

Kushina started bawling once more. The more she learned, the more foolish, heartless and helpless she felt. She was at a loss as to what to do. What could she do to fix this situation?!

Teuchi also informed Kushina, "Kushina, I told Minato earlier that he and his family are no longer welcome at my stand. And I'm going to post a sign saying as much. I…" he smiled softly, "…I'll make an exception for you alone."

Kushina looked Teuchi dead in the eye, "Don't worry about that, Teuchi. I won't be keeping the 'Namikaze' moniker on my name for that much longer. If Asuma's theories are proven true, I'm done with that man…and if I find out that Naomi played a part in this, then Kami help me, I'm done with her as well."

"I might be able to help you speed that process along," Asuma offered.

Kushina turned to him, "How?"

"As one of the former Guardian Ninja Twelve, I know the daimyo and his family quite well. In the eight years I served them, I distinguished myself above the others and never once did I ask him for anything of a personal nature. I have quite a few favors I can call in. If you want to leave Minato, I can get your petition directly into his hands to be made legal with only your signature, and I can make it happen within the course of a day."

Kushina just stared at him before breathing out, "Thank you."

Asuma just smiled and nodded.

Mikoto addressed him next, "So what happens from here?"

"Well," Asuma answered, "I'm going to do some investigating and see what I can't dig up about this whole mess. I promised myself that I would make sure Naruto got some justice and restitution for what's been done to him…" he narrowed his eyes at Mikoto as he thought about recent developments, "…Mikoto, as the last living adult Uchiha, you have access to the Uchiha Police Force's archives, don't you?"

Mikoto narrowed her eyes just as thoughtfully, "As a matter of fact, yes, I do."

"Could you grant me access to them? I'd be interested to see what's in there about all of this; they've got to have some records about it."

The Uchiha Matriarch gave the bearded jounin a knowing smile, "I'd be happy to do so. Can you meet me at Police HQ in a couple of hours?"

"I'll be there," he replied to her before turning to the other two ladies in the room, "Lady Tsunade, Lady Kushina, could the two of you take some time to train me?"

"Train you? Why?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"I need to really vamp up my skills. I'm creating a plan to deal with all of this. My father and the Fourth have both fallen so far short of the bar that the First and Second Hokages set. Neither of them would have sacrificed their family for the village, nor the village for their family. The only people that they sacrificed were themselves. My old man was already near the end of his life when he sealed the Kyuubi, so it wasn't a big deal to him, while Minato hasn't sacrificed anything of himself at all since he's been in office. I think it's time for a new Hokage – one who would stand up for the Will of Fire."

The room's occupants thought about what he was saying. It was Tsunade who caught on first.

"Wait a minute…" Tsunade began, "You don't mean…"

"That's right. Someone's got to do it, and I'm ready to step up and be that someone. But…I need to actually become a Kage-level shinobi first. Lady Tsunade, could you train me in advanced chakra control? Lady Kushina, could you train me in Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu? I also plan to talk to Might Guy to give me some specialized Taijutsu training."

"Asuma, I would be happy to help you with your Ninjutsu, if you want," Mikoto offered, "From what I've seen here, I think that you would make a fine Hokage and lead us back to what the village was founded on: the Will of Fire, and the conviction that the Leaf Village is a family!"

"I'm in," Tsunade replied.

"So am I," Kushina replied immediately after.

"Thank you…all of you," Asuma expressed his gratitude, "We can meet for breakfast tomorrow to discuss the regimen. How does that sound?"

"You can use my stand," Teuchi suggested, "I'll get everything started early and make you all some breakfast a couple hours before we open."

"Thanks, Teuchi!" Tsunade said with a smile.

"So, Kushina…" Mikoto addressed her bedridden friend, "…what are your plans for when you get out of here?"

"I just want my little boy back home and safe. Nothing else matter to me right now…" Kushina answered before her voice began to break yet again, "…but I can't give him a home, anymore! I…"

"Kushina, that's not necessarily true," Tsunade interrupted her, "If, or rather when, you leave Minato, you'll be moving out of his house and getting your own place. Naruto just can't live on Namikaze Clan property anymore, but if you don't either, you can take him in and give him anything you want. And if nothing else, when Naruto comes back, I'll be happy to take him in. You too, if you want. We'll keep looking for him; we won't rest. And when we find him, we'll bring him back to the most loving home he could ever imagine living in."

"Yeah…" Kushina smiled tearfully, "…that's my heart's desire, right now. I don't care anymore about what he did to Naomi, or whether his reasons were just or not. I was going to punish him for it, but…right now, I just want to hold him in my arms and tell him that things will be different from now on."

"Yeah," Tsunade agreed, "And when we get you out of here, we can go ahead and make plans for a more organized search, okay?"

Kushina nodded.

* * *

Minato was still in his office, just hoping that there wouldn't be any more trouble, or any more bad news. He had already had enough to last a decade. Unfortunately, Fate would not be so kind to him.

"Lord Hokage?" he heard someone ask. He looked up to see a medical ninja at his door.

"Please, come in," he invited the man, offering him a seat.

"Sir, I wish I had better news for you. This concerns your wife and daughter."

"My wife? What wrong with her?"

"She was admitted to the hospital today for dehydration, chakra exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Apparently, she'd been scouring the outskirts of Konoha searching for your missing son…" Minato's teeth ground together as his former son was mentioned, though the medic didn't notice, "…she hadn't slept in more than three days, and she hadn't been eating, either. She just kept pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion, even to the point of near-death."

Minato's eyes went wide as he jumped up, "How is she now? Is she alright?!"

"She's fine, sir," the medic assured him, "She'll actually be released in a few short hours after Lady Tsunade gives her the all-clear. Mikoto Uchiha and Teuchi Ichiraku were able to get her to the hospital in time for her to be treated so that she would make a full recovery."

'So that's why they were there? Why didn't they tell me about Kushina?' he wondered, both surprised and alarmed that he wasn't made aware of the situation.

He brought himself back to the present moment, "You said you also had news of my daughter?"

"Yes sir. You'd better brace yourself for this," the medic responded, causing Minato to worry greatly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We've found another injury on her person."

"What do you mean 'another injury'?"

"Sir…the blow she took to her abdomen…caused irreversible damage to her ovaries and womb. I'm afraid she's been…rendered infertile. I'm sorry, sir. She'll never be able to have children."

Minato allowed the news to sink in: this was bad! Naruto was no longer part of his family, but now he no longer had a viable heir! If Naomi couldn't have children, the Namikaze family would die out with her! This realization brought a look of uncontrollable rage on his face as he made a very dark promise to himself, '_You little fucking bastard! I'll find you and I'll make your life a living hell for what you've done to me and my precious daughter!_'

END

**I'D LIKE THE THANK RONNY214 AND NCPFAN FOR ALL THE HELP THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN ME FOR THIS STORY (IDEAS, CRITICS, ETC.)

**I'D ESPCIALLY LIKE TO THANK NCPFAN FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION AND CONTINUOUS HELP ON THIS CHAPTER


	4. Allies ,Consequences , and Plans

Namikagure, ch.4

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DRAGON BALL Z

**Chapter 4: Allies, Consequences, and Plans**

It had been five days since Naruto left Wave to return to the time chamber. He had been able to master his Super Saiyan Two form, as Goku-sensei called it, to the same level as his Super Saiyan form. Naruto, who was in his original from, now, was currently walking into Iron country with his power level suppressed down to zero as to not attract any attention 'Thank god Goku-sensei had me train in energy suppression as well as energy detection' Naruto thought as he walked down the road.

About ten minutes later Naruto suddenly heard a loud ruckus and a scream. Without a second thought, Naruto took off towards the ruckus and scream. When Naruto got to the origin of the noise he saw a little girl on the ground unconscious with five grown men standing over her, looking at her with cross expressions on their faces.

Naruto did not even take time to call out to them before taking action. He Instant Transmissioned behind one of them, and chopped him at the base of his skull knocking him out. He then used his speed to appear behind the other men and knock them out in a similar fashion. Once he had them all knocked out, he placed four-limb restriction seals on the five men. The seals restricted their movements like his weight seals did, and he set them to about the weight he had on right now.

With the men taken care of for now, Naruto decided to attend to the child, who had a few bruises, but nothing serious. He gently woke her, and as she opened her eyes she began crying and screaming her head off. He quickly wrapped her in a hug, trying to calm her down.

"Shhh…shhh… Everything is going to be alright, you're safe now. Those bad men won't hurt you anymore" he said in a sweet, caring tone.

"W-w-who are y-you?" the girl asked, fear still evident in her voice.

"My name is Naruto, and yours is?" he asked in the same tone when he began to speak to the girl.

"Sarah, my name is Sarah" she replied, beginning to relax in his presence.

"Thank you Sarah, now, can you tell where you're from so I can get you home" asks Naruto.

She nods, and replies, "I live in Iron country with my grandpa, who is a great samurai general!"

Naruto chuckles at her enthusiasm.

"Alright Sarah, can you tell me what your grandpa looks like, so I can recognize him" he asks Sarah, as she nods.

"He's my ji-ji, and he has long, furry whiskers under his nose and an even longer furry whisker on his chin that goes down to his shoulders. He also has the top of his head wrapped up like a mummy" she giggles as she defines his features.

"Okay, thanks Sa-chan. Now, how would you like me to give you a piggy back ride?" Naruto asks, as Sarah pouts cutely for the nickname then gets an ecstatic expression hearing the offer of a piggy back ride. Sarah begins to scramble onto his back as Naruto glances at the five men on the ground unconscious.

The men begin to rise and float in the air, and Sarah is mesmerized by this.

"Alright Sa-chan. Hold on tight okay?" Naruto says as she nods. He then takes off like a bullet with Sarah giggling all the way, while the unconscious, floating men stayed with him.

An hour of walking later brought Sarah and Naruto to a village gate. Naruto then sets Sarah back on the ground, much to her disappointment, and lets the floating men fall in a heapt on the ground. Suddenly, Naruto and Sarah are surrounded by four samurai.

"Sarah-sama, it is good to see you alive and unharmed. Mifune-sama may not show it, but he has been exceedingly worried" says onw of the samurai, who is glaring at Naruto with distrust "So, you're one of the fools that took Sara-"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence when Sarah shouted out, "No! Naruto didn't hurt me. He saved me from the bad men behind us!"

"Look, I just want to get this Sa-chan back to her grandfather as well as meeting your leader. There are some things that I want to discuss with your leader" Naruto says, trying to diffuse the tense situation.

The two men looked back and forth between Naruto and the two "bad men", as Sarah had called them, before nodding and ordering, "Come with us."

* * *

General Mifune was going through some reports of the nations that surrounded his humble little land. News of the goings-on within the Elemental Nations, while rarely affecting his country directly, could still have unintended effects on his nation – their economy, their political stability, their sovereignty (at least if some power-hungry fool got too big for his britches and tried invading – it had happened before, even if it was never successful).

Six people suddenly appeared in his office: his granddaughter Sarah, four of his samurai guards, and…who was that? The sixth person was a black-haired boy with three strange etchings on each of his cheeks and a mile-wide grin.

"Mifune-sama, your granddaughter was found just a short time ago, and we have bought you her savior," spoke the leader of the four samurai.

"Savior?" Mifune asked rhetorically before turning to the stranger and asking in a calm, collected tone, "Who are you and why do you have my granddaughter practically wrapped around your legs?"

"My name is Naruto, Mifune-sama, and I came across your granddaughter with five grown men while entering Iron country. She appeared distressed, leading me to believe that she was with them against her will, so I did what any decent person would do - I saved her and brought her to your village to return her to her family where I was escorted to your office now," spoke Naruto in a respectful tone.

"Hmm…I thank you for saving my granddaughter. Is there anything I can do to repay you?" asks Mifune.

"Well…would it be possible for you to help me with my project? Currently, I am starting a new village, and I would like allies," Naruto says before beginning his story. He then tells Mifune about his past, excluding his saiyan heritage, to saving Wave, and his plans concerning the new village.

"Well Naruto-san, that is quite a goal that you have there, and since I owe you a huge favor and I'm curious to where this will lead, I'll make an alliance between Iron country and the future Namigakure," Mifune replies.

"Thank you Mifune-sama for this opportunity," Naruto bows to him, grateful for Mifune setting up an alliance with him. Just as Naruto is about to leave, he feels something clamp on his leg. He looks down to see Sarah holding his leg in a vice grip.

"You're not going to leave yet, are you?" Sarah asks in a scared tone, not wanting her new friend to leave so soon. Naruto bends down to look at her eye to eye.

"No, I'll stay for a few days, so, right now, how would you like to escort me through your home?" Naruto placates and asks her all at once. Sarah looks ecstatic about Naruto staying for a few days. Both of them leave Mifune's office to explore the village.

When Naruto and Sarah left, and were out of earshot, one of the remaining samurai asks Mifune, "Mifune-sama, are you sure that it is wise to let your granddaughter stay with him?"

Mifune replies, "Yes, I'm sure that my granddaughter will be quite safe with him considering the fact that he saved her from being taken out of Iron country. Who knows what would have happened to my granddaughter then?"

* * *

Naruto and Sarah were currently walking through the village, and Sarah was showing him all the sights. It was getting to around lunch time, so they decided to stop at a small restaurant of Sarah's choice. After having their fill, they begin to sight see once more. Then, Naruto notices a strange shop, and asks Sarah about the store and she replies

"It's a weapon store. You want to go in?" Naruto nods his head as he and Sarah proceed to walk towards the weapon store.

As Naruto opened the door, a bell rung, alerting the owner that he had customers, which he then greeted Naruto and Sarah.

"Hello my dear good sir, is there anything that I can help you with today?" the owner asked in his most hospitable tone trying to coax his newest customer into buying something.

"Yes, I am looking for a sword of good quality" replies Naruto, ignoring the tone of the owner.

"Alright then sir, if you'll just follow me. We keep our swords in the back, so you can pick any sword or swords that you fancy" replied the owner.

As Naruto, Sarah, and the store owner walked into the back room, Naruto couldn't help but be in awe at the sheer number of swords that the room held. There were broad-swords, ninjatos, katanas, tanfos, and any other sort of sword that you could imagine.

After a few minutes of browsing through the enormous display of swords, Naruto found a sword that caught his eye.

It was a double edged short sword (think one of killer bees' swords) and glanced at the owner "Is all of your weapons forged with chakra conductive steel?" he asks the owner.

The owner replies, "Yes they are considering we're in the land of Iron, which is the home of samurai."

After Naruto and Sarah left the store, Naruto persuaded Sarah to take him to the nearest training ground as to get used to his sword. Naruto began his training in his new sword, but it was a little difficult. He was currently trying to incorporate the use of the sword into his taijutsu style, the Turtle Hermit Fist. After thirty minutes and having little success, he then notices Mifune watching him.

"Mifune-sama how long were you there?" Naruto asked, curious as to how much Mifune saw.

"I was watching you for the past ten minutes, and from what I've seen that style that you're using has potential but you need a partner to help it along. Out of curiosity, what was that style that you're using?" Mifune asks, intrigued by the black haired boys' movements.

"Well, I was just trying to incorporate my new sword into my taijutsu style, the Turtle Hermit Fist, but I'm not having much luck with it" Naruto said sheeplessly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Boy, I want to see what that taijutsu style of yours is capable of, so with that in mind I want to spar with you," Mifune demanded, interested to see if this boy could be a worthy student, "I want to see what you are capable of, that means no holding back."

"Alright, but you asked for it." Naruto says before blurring out of existence.

Mifune's and Naruto's fists met with Naruto instantly matching Mifune's strength.

'_Man, he might be an old geezer, but his strength surpasses Zabuza's. I might actually have some fun in this spar,_' thought Naruto, while Mifune was having similar thoughts about the young man in front of him.

Giving a small smirk, Mifune asks, "What do you say we kick things up a bit?" with Naruto simply nodding his head.

They both increased their respective strengths and began to engage each other once again. The spar carried on for another fifteen minutes, and ended when Naruto used his FULL speed to land a kick on Mifune's chin, knocking him out.

Mifune was being helped on his feet after five minutes from his foot-induced unconscious state. He then walked towards Naruto. When he was standing directly infront of him he said, "Well done Naruto, but you still need help developing that style with a sword, so I would like to extend an offer to help you do just that."

"Mifune-sama, I am honored that you are willing to help me in this, and I'm eternally grateful for everything that you've done for me thus far" Naruto said in a grateful and respectful tone.

"Well then, let's begin…" Mifune said, as Naruto got an exhilarated look on his face.

* * *

The last several weeks had not been kind to Minato Namikaze. Ever since word had gotten out about him and Kushina kicking Naruto out of the family, maintaining the village's respect towards him as their leader had been an uphill battle. The majority of the people still supported him, but there was a large enough minority that didn't that it was causing him a lot of problems.

Teuchi Ichiraku hadn't relented on his promise about banning his family from his stand. He had even gone so far as to post a large and very visible sign that said, "This establishment does not serve Namikaze scum"! Just who the hell did he think he was?! Nothing he did could convince the man to take the sign down! He even tried hiring some thugs to discretely threaten the man…only to have Mikoto, Asuma, Tsunade and Kushina arrive on the scene just in the nick of time to pound the thugs senseless and force them to run off with their tails between their legs.

Several more signs like that started showing up around the village. More and more businesses were closing their doors to him and his daughter. He couldn't say his family anymore because Kushina had withdrawn herself from them, and with the Daimyo's backing to boot! He didn't even get to see any divorce papers! She had somehow gotten a petition for divorce, annulment and clan separation into the Daimyo's hands, gotten him to sign and stamp it into law, and he didn't even know what had happened until the documents had been dropped on his desk with the Daimyo's official seal!

He still couldn't get that day out of his mind. Even though it had happened over a month ago, he remembered it as vividly as if it happened yesterday…

**Flashback no Jutsu**

_Minato had just received the signed and approved petitions for divorce and clan separation that Kushina had apparently submitted to the Daimyo behind his back. His daughter was still in the hospital, apparently needing her body purged of some kind of strange energy that he guessed Naruto had infused into her when he attacked her. She wouldn't even know what was going on – how was he supposed to tell her about this?_

_Putting that aside for now, he left a shadow clone to finish up some of the last vestiges of paperwork so that he could get home and talk to Kushina about all of this. Granted, he knew that she was upset about him leading her on about Naruto being able to remain at the house after they had disowned him, but was she really taking things this far?! Speeding home, he could only hope that Kushina was still there so that he could talk her out of making a horrible mistake!_

_The moment he got there, he threw open the door and sped to the bedroom that Kushina had taken to sleeping in after she'd left his bed._

"_Kushina!" he cried out desperately, as he entered the room only to see her packing, with Tsunade and Mikoto helping her._

_Kushina stopped what she was doing and turned to Minato with a glare that was icy enough to give him the shivers, "With the urgency that you're showing, I can only assume that you got copies of the divorce and separation documents. Am I right?"_

"_Kushina, why?!" he asked loudly, shock and confusion written all over his face._

"_You know why," she answered him straightforwardly, "You deliberately led me on, and made me believe that we could keep Naruto here and be his parents after we named Naomi our heir. You knew that you were lying to me, and I also know that you've been lying to me about __**my**__ son from the start of his life."_

_Kushina's addressing of Naruto as __**her**__ son was not lost on him. He frantically began to try explaining himself, "Kushina, please, just listen to me…"_

"_I'm done listening to you!" she interrupted him harshly, causing him to flinch, "I'm done listening to your lies! I'm done being led on by you – the man who I'm supposed to be able to trust more than any other! You betrayed me! You betrayed my son! You've betrayed the office of the Hokage and made a complete and utter mockery of what the Will of Fire is supposed to mean! You really are nothing more than a worthless hypocrite! Did you think that I would just accept what you've done to my son and move on?! Or were you just hoping that I would never learn the truth?!"_

"_Kushina, please, I can see that you're angry with me, but if you just give me a chance, we can work this out…"_

"_Work this out?!" Kushina shouted incredulously, "You have not only allowed my son to be beaten by people in this village, but you threw him out of our family, and then you __**laughed at me**__ when I told you that I wanted to keep him at home, and you think we can work this out?! Tell me Minato: how exactly do you expect to work this out?!"_

"_If I explain to you why I did what I did, would you forgive me for what I've done and for lying to you about it?" he asked hopefully._

"_No, I won't. The only way I would even consider forgiving you is for you to undo everything you've done to my son, bring the people who have abused him to justice, and give him back not only everything you've stolen from him, but give him retribution for all of your wrongdoings against him as well! And even then, the possibility of my forgiving you is a very big 'if'!"_

"_I'm sorry, Kushina. I won't do that…" he began anew, only to be cut off from her._

"_Then we have nothing more to discuss! Our divorce is final, our clan separation is final, and my only concern now is finding my son __**and heir**__…" Minato gritted his teeth in fury as Kushina called Naruto her heir, "…and giving him the home that he deserves and that you've always denied him! Goodbye, Hokage-sama!"_

_With that, Kushina grabbed the scrolls that she had just finished sealing all of her and her clan's belongings in and marched past him, Tsunade and Mikoto hot on her heels, also shooting him glares that could burn through steel. Realizing that he had just lost the love of his life over all of this, he dropped to his knees and started to weep bitterly through clenched teeth._

**Kai**

Minato sat in his chair, brooding in his thoughts of that bastard that he had once called a son. This was all his fault! If he hadn't been born, then none of this would have ever happened! His baby girl would be able to grow up and live a happy life, knowing the love of both her parents and not just his love. That was something that hurt him just as much or more than Kushina leaving him. She had all but disowned Naomi – just because she thought that Naruto was the trash that he really was! Why should she hate her daughter just because she had an opinion about the truth? It didn't make sense to him.

Sighing sadly, he continued to finish his paperwork so that he could leave the office and visit his little girl.

* * *

Naomi Namikaze was numb. She had been for some time, ever since that awful day when her mother told her she wanted nothing more to do with her. And over what? She just told her the truth! Why should she be punished for that?! She went over the encounter in her mind once more as she had done countless times already since it happened last week, hoping that this one time it would be different, and she'd be able to make sense out of what happened…

**Flashback no Jutsu**

_She was sitting in her bed, her jaw still wired shut from when her bastard brother had broken it. Why had he gone and done that? All she did was tell him the truth! So what if she called him worthless trash? Are you being insulting to a duck by calling it a duck? Everybody said that he was worthless trash, and they always tried to get him in trouble, so didn't that make it the right thing to do? Sure, she made up stories about him that weren't true, but that didn't matter! He was worthless trash and he needed to know his place! And what was this weird energy stuff that the medics found inside her that was keeping her from healing faster?! What did the trash do to her?!_

_She was brought out of her musings about…him…when her mother entered her room._

"_Kaa-chan," she said through wired jaws, able to at least speak even if it was mumbled. She tried to smile, though it still hurt. Her efforts to smile ceased, however, when she saw the look on her mother's face._

_Kushina wasn't smiling like she normally was when she saw her. Granted, it had been five or six weeks since she'd seen her mother, but the flinty, stern look that she was giving her was unnerving._

"_Kaa-chan…what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked nervously._

"_Young lady, I'm going to ask you some questions, and I expect you to answer with the complete truth," she said sternly, "Will you do that?"_

_Naomi was taken aback by her mother's tone. She gulped and nodded nervously._

"_What did you say or do to your brother to cause him to attack you?"_

_Naomi's eyes went wide before she narrowed them, answering the question, "I simply told him the truth: that you and tou-chan love me and not him, and that I was getting everything, and that he was being thrown out like the worthless trash that he was. Why?"_

_Kushina's steely glare turned to one of shocked disappointment. It caused Naomi to feel uncomfortable – as though she did something wrong._

"_Who told you those things?" Kushina asked._

"_Tou-chan, for one. And so did everyone else in the village – they all hate him, so he must be worthless!" Naomi answered, surprised that her mother would treat her as though she'd misbehaved somehow._

"_Well, that isn't true – at least not for me. I never loved him any less than I love you, even if I had forgotten that for a long time. But I've learned that many of the things I've heard about your brother simply weren't true," Kushina began, "How many of the things you told me about him were lies?"_

_Naomi looked at her mother as though she was about to grow a third eye, "What difference does it make?"_

"_It makes all the difference in the world to me, Naomi. Now answer me!" Kushina demanded._

"_Why? The worthless trash is out of our family and out of our hair. You were one of the people who threw him out, so what does it matter?!" she fired back defensively._

"_Naomi, I'm not going to ask again," Kushina growled while releasing some killing intent, causing Naomi to sweat slightly, "Answer my question!"_

"_Fine," she yelled out in fear, causing her mother's KI to subside, "Just about everything I ever told you was a lie! I don't think I ever saw him do a single thing wrong! There, are you happy now?!"_

_Kushina looked at Naomi in horror and disgust. Naomi didn't like her mother looking at her that way – it was so uncomfortable. It…it hurt to see her mother looking at her with such disappointment._

"_Why did you say those things, then? If they weren't true, why would you get your brother in trouble?" Kushina asked, her disbelief evident in her voice._

"_Because he's worthless trash!" she exclaimed, "Everyone says so! Even Dad and Ero-Sennin think so! You certainly never cared about him before now, so why should I?!"_

"_Because…he's family…" she answered, looking at her daughter with even more horror than before, causing Naomi to flinch as she continued, "…because what we did to him was so horribly wrong, and…you should know better than that. I only got angry with Naruto all the time because I…honestly thought he was misbehaving and causing trouble! Trouble that you said he caused! But he's my child just as much as you are…"_

"_No he's not!" Naomi shouted back as tears fell down her face, "And stop looking at me like I did something evil!"_

_Kushina marched over to Naomi's bed and drummed Naomi across the face, causing her head to snap in the opposite direction as she cried out in pain at the sting of her mother's strike. She turned her gaze back to her mother, who looked at her in even greater horror still, tears rolling down her own face._

"_Why don't you love your brother?" she asked, the full brunt of the horror she was feeling at her daughter evident in her tone, "What did he do to deserve your hatred?"_

"_He was…" Naomi began, but faltered. She didn't really have a reason – she was just doing what gained her the approval of others, and after a while, she just hated him because that's what everyone else seemed to want her to do. She began to shed a tear, but suppressed the guilt and regret she was feeling the moment it made itself known._

_The village loved her – especially those who had helped her to craft the lies she told about Naruto. Seeing Naruto get hurt by them and by her parents caused them to like her more, so that was good enough for her._

_Wanting to fire something back at her mother, she steeled her glare and answered, "He was born."_

_Kushina immediately slapped Naomi again, this time sobbing in horror at what her daughter had just told her._

_When Naomi looked back at her, feeling both regret and anger, Kushina stumbled back two steps before breathing out a question, "How could I have raised you to be such a monster?"_

_Naomi was truly stricken by that. Nobody had ever had a bad thing to say about her. But this was her mother! Her mother of all people…calling her a monster?! She began to cry, truly hurt and heartbroken by her mother's words._

"_I won't stop looking at you like you did something evil, Naomi…because you truly did something evil in treating your brother that way. I had no intention of ever kicking him out of my home, because Uzumakis take care of their family, even if we name another heir to our legacy…" Kushina trailed off for a moment before Naomi tried to talk to her mother._

"_Kaa-chan, please…"_

"_Don't call me that!" Kushina cut her off, hurting her even more, "I…I can't even stand to look at you right now!" Kushina turned away from Naomi and began to sob, while Naomi did the same, fearing the worst._

_Kushina turned to walk out of the room, but stopped at the door. She spoke up one final time, not even bothering to turn around, "I've divorced your father because of this issue…" Naomi gasped, mortified at this news, "…and until you learn to love your brother, who has never harmed you, or hurt you in any way…you are not my daughter. Because I am an Uzumaki! And no Uzumaki would knowingly treat one of their own in such a vile, horrific manner! You are no Uzumaki, and until you become a true Uzumaki, you are not my daughter! And you are no longer my heir, either!"_

_Kushina ran out of the room, not even bothering to look back. Naomi just gaped at the door, horrified at the things her mother had just said, and even more horrified that her mother had essentially disowned her…unless she made some changes in her attitude towards her brother. She hung her head and literally cried herself to sleep._

**Kai**

Naomi still couldn't make any sense of what her mother said. It made her angry that her mother now seemed to hate her for what she did to that worthless bastard! But then…why did part of her also feel guilty and…dirty? Why did she sometimes feel so horrible that she was scared to look into a mirror – as if some kind of ugly monster would stare back at her? She shuddered and put it out of her mind yet again, knowing that she wouldn't be able to find an answer, and also knowing that she would replay the scene in her head many more times in the future.

* * *

Naruto had enjoyed these last six months living in Mifune's castle. He was currently in the training grounds going through the sword style that he had developed with Mifune's help. After an hour of practicing strokes, he decided to try out what Mifune had taught him about surging his chakra through his weapon for different effects.

He hadn't developed any affinities during his training because he had been working mainly on his ki and taijutsu, so he decided to experiment with his ki by channeling it into his sword.

As Naruto channeled ki into his sword, it became engulfed by a bright blue substance that began streaming off the sword's tip. (think what goku's power did when he first fought frieza) Naruto then swung his sword in a downward motion towards a training post. Ki flew out of his sword in a streaming arc towards its intended target, and when it hit the post it exploded.

'Sshhiitt!' Naruto thought, who was wide eyed at what had just happened because he was not expecting for the arc to explode like that. Naruto then noticed several energy signatures heading his way.

Suddenly, Mifune and several of his samurais appear at Naruto's location, and saw the damage that had occurred.

"What's going on here?!" Mifune exclaimed, worried at the small explosion that had just occurred within his village.

"Sorry Mifune-sama, I was trying something with my sword" said a nervous Naruto. As Naruto was speaking to Mifune, someone had discreetly appeared in the area and was watching Naruto.

"Okay, but do that type of destructive training outside of the village with a supervisor." Said Mifune, not wanting his village to be demolished by the black haired boy's training methods.

Naruto nods his head in confirmation hearing this. Everyone begins to go back to their respective posts within the village. When everyone was gone, the person who was discreetly hiding decided to make himself known to Naruto who had resumed training.

"So, your Kakarot's descendant… Hmm, I wonder if you're any good" the person said. Naruto's attention was gotten the moment this person said 'Kakarot'.

'The only person that would know my sensei's saiyan name would be Vegeta or his descendants' thought Naruto, as this strange person was talking to him.

"Who are you, and how do you know that particular piece of information?" Naruto asked the stranger, wanting to know who this person was.

"The name is Vegeta, and I am the descendant of the prince of all saiyans" Vegeta exclaimed, puffing his chest out in pride.

"So, you're Vegeta's descendant… Did he train you like Goku trained me?" Naruto asked. Vegeta snorts as if the answer is obvious.

"Of course he trained me you dolt!" Vegeta said, annoyed that Naruto didn't think of the obvious.

"Well then, how would you like to spar for a little bit? No ki attacks or transformations, just taijutsu as to keep the locals unaware of our fight" asked Naruto, who wanted to test himself against Vegeta. After Vegeta hears this, he smirks and nods in an affirmative notion.

They both assumed their respective stances and began their spar that wouldn't end for five hours.

* * *

Six months was a long time to be laid up in a hospital bed, but Naomi had finally been released, as they had finally gotten the weird energy out of her system. She was told that she would make a full recovery, but Naruto's attack on her abdominal area had rendered her unable to have children. This saddened her – she was no longer useful as her father's heir, and the Namikaze name would end with her She would never be able to pass on his legacy. As she was walking away from the hospital, she couldn't help but think of who put her there in the first place.

'_Naruto, you'll pay for what you did to me!_' she thought venomously.

She couldn't believe that he had actually hurt her that badly. After she got home and settled back in, she was going to scour the village up and down in search of him. She was going to find him, and she would make sure Naruto paid dearly for what he stole from her!

As Naomi walked through the village on her way home, the signs that her father told her about were plainly visible on several businesses, including her favorite ramen stand: the signs that read, "This establishment does not serve Namikaze scum". It angered and hurt her to see these signs posted, and it bothered her even more to see people that used to smile at her now glaring at her as though she was the carrier of some kind of horrible plague. When she finally got to her house, she opened the front door of the Namikaze Estate and yelled, "I'm home!"

She received no answer: Her father was likely still at the office, and her mother hadn't talked to her since she'd disowned her. Her father did confirm that her mother left him and was no longer living with them, so she didn't expect her to be there. She still hoped that her mother would come by and maybe try to talk to her again…she missed her mother, after all. Thoughts of her mother always brought thoughts of her brother, which would do nothing but infuriate her, so she suppressed those thoughts as quickly as they came. Training always made her feel better, and six months of inactivity in a hospital room would certainly have affected her physical condition. She had a lot of lost ground to recover, and had to get back into the shape she was in before Naruto hospitalized her.

Shaking her head to rid herself of that train of thought, she simply made a beeline to the training grounds on the estate and started warming her body up.

A few hours later, Naomi was still training when she heard something move towards her location. She looked behind her to see Jiraiya being wheeled towards her by a nurse. As she took in his appearance, she noticed that he had a broken arm and his entire lower body was in a cast.

"Ero-sennin! What happened to you?" she asked, having never seen him like this before.

As Jiraiya heard his favorite godchild ask the question, he began to think back as to how he had gotten in this position in the first place.

**Flashback no Jutsu**

_It had been almost two weeks since Naomi had been admitted to the hospital – just a few days after Kushina had been admitted and released. Jiraiya had been visiting Naomi constantly during her hospital stay, worried over her because of the damage Naruto had done._

_Jiraiya was currently heading to the hospital to see his goddaughter when he suddenly saw his teammate, Tsunade._

"_Jiraiya, we need to t…" Tsunade spoke, needing to talk to Jiraiya about their neglect of Naruto._

_That was all he heard, since his ears and mind decided at that moment to wander to Tsunade's gift from kami, double F-size breasts._

_After a few minutes, Tsunade noticed that Jiraiya wasn't listening to her and had his eyes glued to her chest. She developed a tick mark on her forehead, and bopped him on the head to get his attention._

"_Jiraiya! Pay attention! We need to figure out what we're going to do in order to find Naruto!" she yelled out, finally getting his attention at saying Naruto's name._

"_Naruto? Why should we worry about him? He isn't our problem anymore. What we should worry about is the damage that he did to Naomi and how much it's going to set her training back," he said almost reprovingly, as though Tsunade knew better and needed to get her priorities straight, not even caring about the fact that Naruto was missing._

_Tsunade couldn't believe what she just heard as she just heard, and her response clearly showed her surprise, "But Jiraiya, we need to find Naruto so we can make up for our neglect of him."_

"_Hmpf…" Jiraiya snorted, "…Naruto doesn't matter; he never did. Naomi's the child of prophecy, Tsunade. She needs our help and our training. This was something decided on by both Minato and me the day they were born. That means that Naruto had to be pushed off to the side, but it's not as if any of that matters anymore," Jiraiya told her,again with that condescending tone of reproval, "Naruto is no longer part of my student's family, therefore none of my concern. And frankly, he's none of yours, either, now, so just forget about him."_

_As Tsunade listened to what Jiraiya was saying, she began to get extremely angry. She walked closer to Jiraiya with an emotionless expression, while saying nothing. Jiraiya couldn't sense anything from her, which meant that she was suppressing her killing intent greatly – that was never a good sign for him._

"_Tsunade…" Jiraiya began nervously as he raised his hands in a defensive posture, "…what do you think you're doing?"_

"_Who, me?" she asked innocently, "Oh, I'm not doing anything…" she began, before looking into his eyes with the iciest glare she'd ever given him She suddenly grabbed his forearm before he could react, and finished her sentiment, "…that you don't deserve for being so malicious towards an innocent little boy!"_

_As she finished speaking, she tightened her grip on his forearm and, using her immense strength, crushed the bones, grinding them into powder._

"_Argh!" Jiraiya screamed in utter agony. Tsunade then slammed him on the ground and pinned him in place with her foot on his chest before ripping off his pants and underwear. She then grabbed his member and began to notice its sudden growth. She looked him dead in the eye again and gave him the most sadistic smile he had ever seen on her face._

_"Even if Naomi is a spoiled rotten little brat, I'm not a monster like you or that bastard who wears the Hokage's hat, so I won't harm a child. But since I won't hurt Naomi, I'll just have to take what you care about most besides your precious prophecy," she says sadistically, as she used her knowledge of medical ninjutsu to permanently sever the blood flow to his member. She then took it a step further and, while holding on to his now permanently limp member, brought her empty fist down upon his balls, crushing them._

_As bad as his screams were when Tsunade broke his arm, the screams that he let out from the systematic destruction of his manly parts was a hundred times worse. It was too bad for Jiraiya that she didn't end it there. Tsunade started to beat the self-proclaimed super-pervert like an overly dirty throw rug. As Jiraiya looked into her face, he saw that her anger was being fueled by bloodlust!_

'_The last time she had that look in her eyes was when she caught me peeping on her! Does that worthless brat mean that much to her that she means to maybe kill me over all this?!' he thought to himself in utter terror._

_No part of his body was safe! She beat him for half an hour without stopping, breaking most of the bones in his body while turning much of his insides into paste. At least when she'd beat him for peeping on her, she'd had enough sense to know that she'd gone too far, and she stopped when she saw the condition that she'd put him in! This time, she didn't stop until she just got tired!_

"_You deserve to die for what you and that evil fucking monster did to poor Naruto! If I ever see you anywhere near me, or Kushina or Shizune or Mikoto or Naruto or anyone else that I care for ever again…" she grabbed his throat and started to squeeze, causing him to choke and gag, "…I'll kill you! Do you understand?!"_

_All he could do was nod, as he knew she was serious! His relationship with Tsunade was all but destroyed now; there was no way he'd ever be able to salvage it. He was no longer an annoying but endearing person to her; that look in her eyes said it all: he was her enemy now. And she wouldn't hesitate to make good on her warning if he should ever cross her again._

_The people who were in the area when this happened were extremely disturbed. All of the men visibly paled, many of them having publicly expressed antagonistic feelings towards Naruto, but those that didn't paled simply because of what Tsunade had done to Jiraiya's manhood. All of the women there covered their children's eyes, though those who hated Naruto also feared for their own safety and vowed never to voice their negative opinions of Naruto who held no ill feeling towards Naruto cheered unashamedly for Tsunade, knowing not only her teammate's reputation as the world's biggest super-pervert, but also for the fact that someone was finally giving the poor boy some vindication and justice!_

**Kai**

"I don't want to talk about it, so what we are going to do instead is get you back to training," said Jiraiya, as he tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. Luckily for him, it worked, seeing as how Naomi started bouncing in place, ecstatic for more training, "Since your father is busy in his office, I'll be the one to train you. Okay, what we're going to do is train your chakra control so I can teach you your father's techniques and then we're going to the hidden toad village to train in senjutsu."

And so began Naomi's training under a broken man.

* * *

Naruto had done a lot in the past year: he perfected his sword techniques, gained an ally in Vegeta, and performed two major missions that gained him more allies in the span of the last six months. Naruto met two women, one in two missions that he had done in the last six months; their names were Shion and Koyuki; both were very beautiful – and both of them needed a swift kick in the ass to get them to drop their attitudes.

Naruto was currently in a hot spring trying to relax the sore joints and muscles that he obtained after performing so many stressful missions back to back. He had just fully relaxed when he heard a familiar voice.

"Well, I'll be! Of all the spots to run into you, Naruto, I never thought that I'd run into you here! And damn if you haven't gotten a good bit taller in this past year, too," said the voice that sounded surprised and…happy? Naruto quickly turned around to see Asuma Sarutobi, and couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.

"Asuma! Hey, man, it's great to see ya! What are you doing here?" asked Naruto, wondering why his friend was here.

"Well, I decided to rest my joints from another mission the Hokage sent me on," he replied as he lowered himself into the hot water about ten feet or so from where Naruto was sitting. He sighed in relief as he sat, the tension fading from his body as the hot spring worked its magic on his tired body.

"Really? Same here – about the missions, I mean," Naruto said, agreeing with the mission part, "So, what's been going on in Konoha since I left?"

"More than you could possibly guess," Asuma responded before he proceeded to tell Naruto everything: his mother's and Tsunade's worry for him and their realization of how they had both wronged him with their neglect, which surprised him greatly, Kushina's leaving Minato and essentially disowning Naomi due to her feelings towards Naruto, which surprised him even more, and Asuma's plan to give Konoha the Hokage it deserved.

Naruto asked Asuma for a small favor concerning his plan for Konoha, "Do you think you can hold off on putting the main part of your plan into action until the Chunin Exams are held there again?"

"Yeah, I guess I could, but why?" Asuma replied, curious as to what his friend was thinking.

"I was wondering if you could get the Fire Daimyo present for the exams so you can expose the Hokage in front of him, and arrange to have some Yamanaka clan members there to scan his mind for treachery?" replies Naruto.

Asuma nods his head with a smile, "I like the way you think, kiddo."

After an hour or so of the two of them relaxing in the hot spring and catching each other up about the goings-on in each other's lives, they stepped out of the bath and returned to the locker room to dry off and get dressed before going their separate ways.

Once they exited the bathhouse, Asuma stopped Naruto, "Naruto, before we go our separate ways, there is something I want to talk to you about."

"Yeah, what is it?" replied Naruto, who was curious to what Asuma was going to say.

"I was wondering if you would want to sign the monkey contract?" Asuma asked Naruto, who had a look of shock on his face.

Asuma answered the question that was written all over the boy's face, "For three reasons: One, you are my friend and you have a lot of potential waiting to be unleashed. Two, I believe that you and the monkeys will get along fine and work as a cohesive unit. Three, it would make our communication between each other much more effective."

Not knowing what to say, Naruto simply replied, "Thank you, Asuma."

Asuma nodded his head in acknowledgment of Naruto's gratitude.

Naruto learned the hand signs and summoned Enma on his first try. In roughly an hour, he gained Enma's blessing to summon him and his clan after passing his test.

Once Enma dismissed himself, Asuma stopped Naruto once more, "Last thing, kid, I promise. I want to ask a favor of you."

Hearing the seriousness in Asuma's tone, Naruto knew that Asuma was about to ask him something that he wouldn't be asking lightly, and it would probably be something that Naruto might have to think long and hard about.

"Okay. What favor?" Naruto responded, narrowing his eyes in attention towards his friend.

"Your mother's been desperately trying to find you ever since you left Konoha. I didn't tell you this the first time, but the first time she searched for you, she nearly died from exhausting herself in her efforts. If it wasn't for Tsunade helping her to plan a more organized search, she would have likely gone back out again and done the same thing…" Naruto's eyes went wide at this news, not understanding why his mother cared so much for him after kicking him out of their family.

Asume continued, "…literally everything she's done since then has been with one goal in mind: finding you and bringing you into a home where you would be loved as you deserved to be. She's realized her wrongs towards you, and she's made no excuses for them. What was worse about it is that the events were covered up and twisted in such a way that even when she did try to find evidence that people were lying about you, the evidence always spoke to the contrary – it was set up that she would believe these lies about you and give up. She was betrayed just like you were."

Naruto looked very conflicted at this news. On the one hand, he somehow wanted to believe it, but on the other…it had been his rage over his mother's treatment of him that he had to use to drive himself towards becoming a super saiyan! Granted, that had made it a blessing of sorts, but the fact that she had driven him that far into rage…he just didn't know what to feel about this information; he certainly didn't know what to do with it.

Asuma, after allowing Naruto a few moments to digest the news, then asked him, "Is it okay with you if I let her know that I've found you, and that you're okay?"

Naruto snapped his gaze up at that – this was the last thing he expected Asuma to ask of him, but Asuma had done a lot for him, especially with letting him become a monkey summoner. The least he could do is let him do this – he had to have a reason.

Asuma, seeing that he wasn't convinced, gave him a little more, "To let you know, Naruto, Kushina's been one of my trainers to help me get my skills and power to Kage-level. Again, her central goal in this is to make the village better for you. You're all she cares about – literally. Nothing else even matters to her. What do you say?"

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed resignedly before nodding slowly, "Okay. That's fine. You can tell her. I guess you can…" he smiled sadly and somewhat bitterly, "…even tell her and Tsunade that if they…have anything they want to say to me, they can write to me and I guess we can use the contract to send messages like that back and forth as well."

He opened his eyes and looked at his friend, shedding a single tear, "The idea of talking to them – to Kushina, especially – angers me and even frightens me a little, but…I trust you. And if you say that things will be different with them, I know I can at least take your word for it."

"Thank, buddy," Asuma said with a smile, "That'll mean more to her than you could possibly know."

Asuma grabbed Naruto into a firm, brotherly hug, Naruto not hesitating to return the gesture.

"I'll be in contact in a few days, okay?" Asuma offered as he left Naruto's company.

"I'll be waiting for it!" Naruto shouted back as Asuma got farther away. Naruto then left in a completely different direction than Asuma was heading in.

And with Naruto's signing of the Monkey Contract, as well as giving the people who cared for him the means through which they could communicate, the fall of Minato Namikaze of Konoha began.

END

**I'D LIKE THE THANK RONNY214 AND NCPFAN FOR ALL THE HELP THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN ME FOR THIS STORY (IDEAS, CRITICS, ETC.)

**I'D ESPCIALLY LIKE TO THANK NCPFAN FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION AND CONTINUOUS HELP ON THIS CHAPTER


	5. Written Confirmation

Namikagure, ch.5

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DRAGON BALL Z

**Chapter 5: Written Confirmation**

It had been a few days since Naruto and Asuma parted ways, and sure enough, he received a message scroll from Asuma by messenger monkey while traveling down a southerly dirt road in Sea Country. He opened the scroll and began to read his friend's message.

* * *

_Hey kid,_

_How are you? I hope you haven't gotten into any serious trouble since I've been gone. As far as things going on in Konoha, there were some things that I forgot to mention to you that I was reminded of when I got back: Jiraiya the Toad Sage is training Naomi in his arts along with Toad jutsu, since her father isn't available to train her himself. I'm not sure how far she'll progress as a Toad summoner, because I really don't think they like her all that much. He is also teaching Naomi her father's techniques._

_I let your mother, Mikoto and Tsunade know about you and how you were doing, and they were all extremely relieved. I had them each write a letter to you so they could talk to you themselves. The letters are at the end of the message, and are named in accordance to who wrote them. I'll contact you later when something important comes up._

_Asuma_

* * *

As Naruto finished reading the letter, he looked below Asuma's name and he saw three seal arrays lined up horizontally. As Asuma said, the first one said 'Kaa-san', the second 'Tsunade', and the finally array had 'Mikoto' written in it. Naruto was curious as to why Tsunade would write him. She never paid him any attention or mind when he was there; they didn't know the first thing about each other. What could she possibly have to say to him? He realized that he would find out soon enough when he read the letter, so he put the question aside for now.

He channeled a bit of chakra into the storage seal array that said 'Kaa-san', and with a poof and a bit of smoke appearing, a folded piece of paper was revealed. He opened the letter and began to read it.

* * *

_Sochi-kun,_

_I've tried writing this over and over, trying to think of what to say, but the words just don't seem to come to me. As many times as I've written this and scrapped it only to start over again, I realize that the only thing I can do is tell you the truth as I know it._

_I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I know that apologizing for what I did to you during the course of your life in my home doesn't even begin to cut it, but that's the only place that I can think to start. I'm sorry that I pushed you to the side for your sister. I'm sorry that the only times I can remember talking to you or giving you any real attention was when I was angry with you. I'm sorry that I never got your side of things or gave you the benefit of the doubt. I know that I could say that I was set up to believe the lies that I was told about you, but the truth is that I should have known better – I would have known better if I had only known __**you**__ better._

_I'm even sorrier that I didn't take the time to get to know you the way a mother should know her son. I'm so sorry that I don't know you at all, and that I never gave you a fair chance to truly get to know me, either. I'm sorry that I never showed you how much I love you. I know that this may well be impossible for you to believe, but I do love you, Sochi-kun. I always have. I know that I have yet to really prove that, and that I have a lot to prove in that regard. I can only beg you to give me the chance to prove it to you. I know I don't deserve it, and I'm not asking this lightly. I can't help but think that this request must hurt you and make you very angry – and I'm sorry for that, as well._

_I do want you to know that I never intended to force you out of our home. I grew up in Uzushio, not Konoha, and as such, I wasn't aware of Konoha-specific laws regarding disinheritance from a clan. Back in Uzushio, the Uzumaki Clan always took care of its own. Even when an heir was disinherited, we never threw them out of the family or out of their home. I honestly didn't know that it would be illegal for me to continue providing for you on Namikaze property, and had I known that would happen, I would never have agreed to it in the first place. When I found this out, I was mortified at what I'd done. I left your father shortly after this, in part because of the lies he told me about you almost since you were born, but also so that I could provide you with a home to come back to when you would have hopefully returned, or if we had found you and brought you home._

_I know that as a mother, I have failed you miserably in probably every conceivable way, and I have absolutely no excuses for that – for any of it! I make this vow on my name as Kushina Uzumaki: If you'll allow me, I will be the mother you deserved to have growing up and then some. I will love you with all my heart and soul, and with every effort I can put forth, and I will give you everything you could possibly need and so much more! I have already separated the Uzumaki Clan from the Namikaze Clan, and I have named you my heir. Everything I own will now one day be yours. I know it's not much, considering everything I played a part in robbing you of, but it's what I can give at the moment. The only way I can give you more is if you were here for me to do it, or if you were to tell me what you want or need. Please know that I never gave up hope in finding you and trying to make things right. I know that I can never truly do that, but I'll gladly spend the rest of my life trying._

_Can you tell me how you are? Are you okay? Are you eating right and taking good care of yourself? Are you doing any kind of training? Is there anything I can maybe get for you to help you along with your training? Is there anything you want to train in that you don't have either the resources or instruction for? I'd be happy to get you any materials I can get my hands on and send them to you._

_Are you happy right now? Might there be a special lady friend in your life? Can you tell me anything about your travels? I'd love for you to tell me about some of your adventures out there. If you'd be willing (and I understand if you're not), I'd love to be able to meet up with you some place so that I could spend a few days with you. I know that you probably don't have much, if anything, to say to me, but I desperately want to see you. I know that Tsunade and Mikoto do as well – we might be able to make a vacation of it. We would gladly pay for everything – I just want to see you again._

_If that's not possible right now, I understand. I want to leave you with this: if there's anything at all that I can do for you, I want you to let me know, okay? And I do mean anything at all – no limits, no conditions._

_I love you, Sochi,_

_Kaa-san_

* * *

As Naruto finished reading the letter, he couldn't help but feel hurt and anger form what his mother had written. So many terrible memories came rushing back to the surface, along with so many questions. Why did all of that happen to him in the first place? Why was it that he had to completely remove himself from her life and her sight in order to even get her to say something even remotely nice to him? At the same time, the woman he knew as his mother would never have admitted to wrongdoing so humbly the way she just had. What was he supposed to do with all of this? He needed to think on his feelings further before sending her a reply, so with that in mind he repeated the process of reading the next letter.

* * *

_Dear Naruto-kun,_

_I wish I could think of a better way to begin this than by saying, "Allow me to introduce myself…", especially since I was named your godmother, but my name is Tsunade Senju. I'm deeply ashamed at how I never even talked to you while you were here. Some godmother, huh?_

_I can only express my regrets at truly being a stranger to you, especially after what Mikoto, the Ichirakus and Asuma have all told me about you. They tell me that you're a deeply caring and selfless young man who would go as far as he had to just to make his loved ones smile. They also told me about how friendly you always were to people, and about how you were able to win over the friendship and affections of so many of Teuchi's regular customers just by being you. I truly wish I knew you, now. I know you don't really have any reason to bother trying to get to know me, but I'd be grateful if you would try._

_Your mother has moved in with me since leaving your father. We've made a room for you here in my clan home. We wanted to give you a safe place to call home when you returned to the village (we believe in our hearts that you will). I don't know if I'm assuming too much, or if I'm offending you in any way with all of this, and if I am, please be patient with me. I just want you to know that there are people here who do care for you, even if we don't know you._

_I guess I could tell you a few things about me. I'm a medical ninja, mostly, but I also hold the Slug Summoning Contract. If you would like to sign it sometime, I'd be glad to let you. I've already checked with Asuma, and he said that Enma would have no problem if you wished to sign the Slug Contract as well._

_Let's see, what else? I enjoy my work as a medic. I like healing people, but I also like training in taijutsu – I'm well-known for my super strength technique when I throw a punch or kick. I love good sake, and gambling (even though I suck at it – which led to a certain moniker of mine: The Legendary Sucker). Gambling is my hobby, despite how much money I've lost at it. I also love the people I consider family – that would include Kushina, Mikoto, my niece Shizune, and more recently, Asuma Sarutobi, the Ichirakus, and now you. I also like extended vacations!_

_I look forward to hopefully getting to know you in the near future, Naruto-kun. You sound like a wonderful young man. I hope you'll keep in touch with me, and if there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to let me know, okay? Just to let you know, I've enclosed a small sealing tag in this letter. It will allow you to summon a messenger slug so that you can pass as many messages back and forth to us as you want. This way, we won't possibly have to worry about wearing out poor Asuma with our constant requests to have him pass things back and forth between you and us._

_With love,_

_Tsunade Senju_

* * *

Reading Tsunade's letter had lifted Naruto's spirits and calmed his anxious mind. Tsunade's letter had touched him. He was moved by her expression of regret at never having gotten to know him, and he also found her way – at least in this letter – of freely talking about her less-than-desirable traits to be rather heartwarming and endearing. With a smile, he opened the last letter, already having a pretty good idea of what to expect. He wasn't disappointed.

* * *

_NARUTO-BAKA!_

_YOU STUPID, BONEHEADED IDIOT! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE LEAVING?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT HURT ME?! I'M NOT MAD AT YOU FOR LEAVING, NARU-KUN, I'M MAD AT YOU FOR NOT TELLING ME AND MAKING ME WORRY ABOUT YOU!_

_MY WONDERFUL NARU-KUN, I'M SORRY FOR JUST UNLOADING ON YOU LIKE THIS, BUT I WISH I COULD KNOCK YOU UPSIDE THE HEAD AND THEN CRY INTO YOUR CHEST! I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW BADLY I'VE MISSED YOU! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, HONEY, AND THERE ARE DAYS WHERE I HONESTLY WISH YOU HAD TAKEN ME WITH YOU! SASUKE IS THE ONLY FAMILY I STILL HAVE IN THIS SEPTIC TANK WE CALL A VILLAGE, AND HE NEVER EVEN BOTHERS TALKING TO ME ANYMORE! I'VE MOVED OUT OF THE UCHIHA COMPOUND AND INTO TSUNADE'S HOME, AND SASUKE HASN'T EVEN BOTHERED TO LOOK FOR ME OR EVEN MENTION IT TO ANYONE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME?!_

_NARU-KUN, I WANT TO SEE YOU! I'LL MEET YOU ANYWHERE YOU WANT, EVEN IF YOU CAN ONLY GIVE ME A FEW HOURS! I NEED TO SEE YOU! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE! I KNOW I'M BEING PETTY RIGHT NOW, BUT I WANT A MAN THAT I CAN BABY AND PAMPER! I NEED TO FEEL LIKE A WOMAN AND A MOM! SO WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! AND WHEN YOU TELL ME, YOU'D BETTER KEEP YOUR TAILED ASS EXACTLY WHERE IT IS UNTIL I GET THERE OR THERE'LL BE HELL TO PAY! GOT IT?!_

_Okay, I took a few minutes to cry myself out before coming back to this. I've calmed down now, and I know better than to find you and run in your direction. Naru-kun, I've missed you so! When Asuma told us that he ran into you, my heart literally ached! And yes, I thought about starting over after reading what I wrote when I was hysterical – but I know you well enough to know that you would appreciate my direct honesty. I know that you probably got a chuckle out of it – don't you raise that eyebrow at me like you don't know what I'm talking about, mister._

_Good, now that that's settled – and yes, I accept your apology and I forgive you – we all want to make some plans to see you, honey. I just want to hold you again and kiss you all over your face. I miss you so badly, it hurts. Please, sweetheart, tell us when you'll come back home. Tsunade, Kushina and I have made a home for you here, where you'll be loved and kept safe and protected. We want to make you happy. And if you're not ready to come home, can you tell us where you are, or where you might be at a time where we could possibly meet you somewhere else? Let us know, okay? Please!_

_Much love,_

_Your Mikoto-chan_

* * *

As Naruto finished reading Mikoto's letter, he couldn't help but feel a multitude of emotions. Regret for causing her to worry so much about him, anger at Sasuke for how he treats his mother since the massacre, and embarrassment for how she would treat him when she finally met him again. He also couldn't help but laugh at how she expressed her care for him, and even more so at the manner with which she demanded he stay where he was once he told her where he'd be.

He decided that when he either made camp or got to a hotel that night, he would write them back and send them by way of messenger monkey since he was still considering Tsunade's offer to sign the slug contract.

He actually made it into a small town before nightfall. It had been a little over an hour since he checked into an inn, settled into his room and started writing his replies to the three letters. He was having much greater difficulty than he had anticipated. Writing to Mikoto was easy – he just wanted to apologize to her and let her know how important she was to him. He did what he felt he had to do at the time, and considering that he'd just found out about the Uchiha Massacre on his way out of the village, he didn't want to burden Mikoto with putting him up, as well.

Even Tsunade wasn't that tough to compose a response to. He didn't know her, and he didn't have any feelings towards her in one direction or the other. All he could think with her was that it was nice that she wanted to get to know him now, and that she seemed to care for him just from what others had told her about him.

It was Kushina, however, that would be the hardest to write a response to. In so many ways, she had hurt him far worse than anyone else ever had, and maybe ever would. When it came to her, he just didn't know what to say. On the one hand, she more than deserved his undying enmity and hatred, and he needed to tell her the full truth as best as he could about what she did to him. On the other, though, he didn't want to go off half-cocked and just destroy the hopes that she had expressed, either – that wouldn't do him, her or anyone else any good, and it just didn't sit well with him to do something like that. He sometimes cursed himself for being too much like Goku – always willing to forgive someone if they showed that they were willing to change. Even when he wanted to hate someone, he just didn't have it in him.

He had finished some time well into the night and went to bed to catch a few hours sleep. When he woke up that next morning, he took out a small medium-sized sealing scroll, and created three storage seals that had the kanji on them: 'Kushina', 'Tsunade', and 'Mikoto' individually. He then proceeded to seal each letter in its respective storage seal before rolling the scroll up. Once he had done this, he used Tsunade's seal to summon the messenger slug that she allowed him to use. The slug didn't speak – it just opened its oral cavity to take whatever cargo it would be transporting.

Naruto raised a quizzical eyebrow before shrugging and placing the scroll into the slug's open "mouth". The slug swallowed it whole before disappearing with a cloud of smoke. Naruto spent the morning checking out of his room, eating breakfast, and getting back on the road, traveling southward once again while he waited for the reply to his letters.

* * *

It had been a few days since Kushina, Tsunade, and Mikoto sent their letters to Naruto through Asuma and the Monkey clan, and they were anxious and hopeful to receive a reply from Naruto. Currently, Kushina, Tsunade, and Mikoto were training in the Senju clan compound's training area. They had decided to keep their respective skills fresh considering they were no longer active ninja of the village. They stopped training when they heard a poof, and a bit of smoke appear in the room. The smoke cleared and a small slug was revealed.

"Naruto got the letters!" Tsunade exclaimed excitedly. All three women's eyes widened when they heard Naruto's name, and they appeared in front of the slug with speed that could rival the Hiraishin. The small slug opened its oral cavity wider than seemed possible, and spit out a perfectly clean scroll before disappearing without a word. Kushina grabbed the scroll off the ground faster than the other two could blink, and opened it to see three storage seals, one addressed to each of them.

"Hey girls, there are three storage seals in this scroll with our names on them," Kushina said aloud so her two training partners and friends could hear her. She then channeled chakra to the seal that had her name on it and a letter poofed into existence. She opened the letter and began to read it aloud, Mikoto and Tsunade drawing close so they could hear…

* * *

_Dear Kushina,_

_I thought I had sufficiently prepared myself to receive some form of communication from you, but I find myself at a loss right now. I don't know what I should feel, or what I should think. You were right in your letter – I am very hurt, and very angry. I started feeling that way when I actually got your letter. And I did feel more hurt and angry when you asked me for a chance to show me that you love me. So many questions have gone through my head over the years, both before I was cast out of our former family and since then: why was I never good enough to be loved by my kaa-san and tou-san? What did I do wrong to be treated that way? I never could understand just what I did to deserve it._

_I know now that I didn't deserve it, but I sometimes still can't help but blame myself for it. I still ask myself from time to time, "How could I have been a better son? How could I have made my parents love me?" Do you have any idea what that's like: to be treated like that by your own family and village, and to not even know why?_

_I have more to say, but before I do, we need to get a few things straight: given everything that's happened, I can't think of you as my mother anymore, so please don't expect me to call you "Kaa-san" or anything like that – it's never going to happen. The truth is that we've never had a bond like that, anyway – at least I can't remember the last time I felt anything like that with you, and I'm pretty sure you know why. I also think we both know that it's far too late for us to form that kind of bond or attachment. Kushina, in many ways, you've hurt me far more than anyone else ever has – not because your actions were necessarily so much worse, but because you're the one person that I wanted to love me more than any other, and that makes you the person who's disappointed me and let me down the most._

_That said, I'm not unwilling to build some kind of constructive relationship with you. Please bear in mind, as well, that the only reason I'm willing to do this is because my good friend Asuma Sarutobi informed me of how much you've changed, and how much you've already done for me. I'm only giving this a chance because I trust him completely, and I know that he doesn't take my trust lightly. I don't know what shape or direction our relationship will take, but if you're willing to build it with me – on my terms – then I believe that we can have a good relationship, maybe even a great one._

_Despite our past, you do have a few points in your favor with me. Again, with Asuma vouching for you, that gives you significant credibility with me. I also appreciate the fact that you've taken responsibility for the wrongs you've done me, and that you've made no excuses for them – this is something that I must admit I was not expecting. I never thought anyone from our former family would ever swallow their pride enough to apologize to me of all people. That gives you even more credibility with me. I believe I can trust that your intentions towards me are good, and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt._

_I'm not really sure what else to say, so I guess I'll answer your questions: I'm doing very well for myself. I've been making a name for myself as a bit of a crusader, and I've even been able to hire myself out as a mercenary and fight for causes that I believe are just. I'm taking very good care of myself, and I'm also eating as healthy a diet as I can while on the road – I do a lot of my own hunting and foraging, so I'm eating lots of lean meat, fruits and vegetables._

_As far as training goes: I've learned several techniques that only I can do, because I'm the only one who can use ki as a power source for fighting in addition to chakra. Right now, I'm training to adapt my taijutsu style, which I call the Turtle Hermit Fist, into my sword. I'm training to be able to channel ki into my weapon as I use it – it's a bit different than channeling chakra through it, but the principle is similar. I don't really have a style of swordsmanship other than the one I'm trying to create right now, and that one seems to be really tough to adapt from Turtle Hermit Fist._

_Taijutsu, Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu are the only shinobi arts that I have extensive knowledge of. I can also use Ki techniques to great effect. My chakra reserves are similar to those of a lower-numbered tailed beast, though I have the chakra control of a top-notch medical ninja or genjutsu specialist. I'm told that my chakra control is kind of being wasted right now since it's good enough to use high-level ninjutsu and genjutsu, and I don't know a single one of either._

_I'm happy, for the most part. I guess you could say I'm about as happy as someone with unresolved issues can be – nothing can really be done about that, right now, so please don't waste time feeling guilty or regretful. If anything, you're taking steps to help me resolve a lot of those issues, so thank you for that. As far as lady friends go? Hmm…not sure how comfortable I am sharing that information right now – no offense._

_I've traveled to several different places since I've left. I've been to Wave Country, Iron Country, all up and down the coastline of the Elemental Nations, and even to a place you've never heard of called Kami's Lookout. Something else you need to understand as well is this: time has passed differently for me than it has for you. I know that makes absolutely no sense at all, but in the one year that has passed for you, five years have passed for me. Within Kami's Lookout is a special place called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where a year passes inside the chamber for every day outside of it. I spent two periods of two days/years each inside the chamber, doing nothing but intensive training of my unique special abilities. Chronologically, I'm thirteen years old, but biologically, I'm seventeen years old. I'm no longer a child, anymore. This also kind of adds to the reason as to why mother and son are something we can never be for each other: I put that part of my life behind me long ago._

_Although, I've had a few very interesting adventures – but you mentioned that you wanted to see me, so that conversation might be better left for when we can actually talk. I'd tell you here, but it would fill several scrolls, and I just don't have that kind of time right now. If you're willing to meet up some place, I'd be willing to give that idea a try – but I want it to be far away from Konoha, and preferably outside of Fire Country's borders._

_I can guess that you feel hurt and disappointed in not being able to reconnect to me as a mother to her son, but please understand my point of view. There's been too much done, and too much not done, over too much time for that to be even a remote possibility for me. I know that thirteen years might not seem like much time to you, but it's been an entire lifetime for me. I wouldn't even know how to interact with you as my mother. I don't even know how I'll interact with you if and when I see you again, because the only way I've known to interact with you is either defensively or combatively. The only way I would be able to have a relationship with you would be to start completely over, because you're right in that we don't know each other. But I am willing to try. I know you are as well, so why don't we start there?_

_Hopefully,_

_Naruto (Uzumaki?)_

* * *

As Kushina finished reading the letter, she let it fall out of her hands, feeling so many different emotions that she was overwhelmed. She had broken down into tears when she'd read how Naruto simply couldn't think of her as his mother anymore, though her tears of hurt and guilt were caused more by the realization that she'd pushed him that far away from her than by anything else. Her friends could hear it in her voice, and offered her comfort and consolation.

While they were saddened for Kushina that she couldn't have a mother/son relationship with Naruto, they both exhorted her to be grateful and encouraged that Naruto was at least giving her a chance to earn a place in his life. Kushina knew that they were right, and accepted the situation as it was. With that settled, Tsunade unsealed the next letter and read it aloud for the other two to hear…

* * *

_Dear Tsunade-san,_

_I appreciate the sentiment in expressing your apology to me for not getting to know me before now, but I assure you it isn't necessary. As we've never actually interacted, I really haven't had a chance to form an opinion of you in one direction or the other. But if it helps, then the fact that you cared enough to want to apologize gives you a few points with me._

_You seem to me to be a very kind person at heart. I appreciate how you've made the effort to make a home for me – someone you don't even know. Whether we're "supposed" to be family or not, it takes a lot of kindness and care for a person to do that for a stranger. I also wish that we'd gotten to know each other better before I'd left – I have a feeling that things might have been a little different for me if you had._

_Regardless of that, I'm touched that you're making an effort to get to know me now, and that you're allowing me to get to know you as well. Sorry to hear about your lousy luck at gambling; I'm actually pretty lucky, myself – maybe I can help balance things out a bit for you if we're ever in the same casino! Also, thank you for the offer to allow me to sign the Slug Contract. I will give it serious consideration._

_I guess I can tell you a little bit about me. Training and learning the ninja arts and the martial arts are the only real hobbies I have, as I never really did anything else with anybody else when I was younger. I like the few people who genuinely care about me back in Konoha, and I'm starting to consider you as one of those few. I also like my ancestor Son Goku, General Mifune of Iron Country, and ramen._

_I don't honestly hate anyone or anything, really – well, that's not true; I hate having to wait for three minutes for a cup of instant ramen to finish cooking. I know you might think that I hate my former family – I really don't. I'm disappointed and disgusted with Minato and Naomi, and I think they're vile and repugnant excuses for humanity, but I don't wish them any ill will. I don't care if I never see them again, but I know that I will eventually. Anyway, I guess right now, I'm just enjoying life on the road, and I'd like to continue growing stronger as I walk the life path I'm currently on._

_I'll tell you about my skills and training as well. I'm at least as good as Minato or Kushina in the art of sealing, probably better (no, I'm not exaggerating or tooting my horn – that's an honest assessment after comparing my seal work to theirs). I have excellent chakra control, and my chakra reserves as they currently are could probably rival one of the lower-numbered tailed beasts' chakra level. My ki training had a lot to do with that. I won't tell you about my skills with ki, as you'd have to see them to believe me anyway._

_My ninjutsu and genjutsu repertoire are non-existent. I never had the chance to really learn any. Taijutsu is my primary area of specialty, and I'm trying to adapt my taijutsu style, the Turtle Hermit Fist, into my swordsmanship, though I'm finding this to be more difficult than I originally thought it would be. Despite the difficulty, though, I believe it's coming along._

_As I've told Mikoto and Kushina, I have no problem with meeting you somewhere, so long as it's away from Konoha, preferably outside Fire Country. I'm not yet ready to return to Konoha, as I am still traveling and trying to learn all I can from whoever I can in order to grow stronger. But it's good to know that I do have a home waiting for me when I return. Again, thank you._

_Warm regards,_

_Naruto_

* * *

When Tsunade finished reading her letter, she couldn't help but smile. She felt grateful that she was being given a chance to get to know him despite their non-existent relationship and past history.

"He's so pure-hearted…" Tsunade breathed out, amazed at Naruto's capacity for compassion and love, "…how could we have been this blind as to not see this?"

"I'm asking myself that very same question," Kushina responded, just as amazed at her boy as Tsunade, though feeling even more regretful that she hadn't seen this about him.

"That doesn't matter, anymore…" Mikoto told them both in a reassuring manner, "…what's important is that you're both seeing this, now. And you'll get the chance to come to know him the way I do."

Tsunade and Kushina simply smiled and nodded understandingly. Mikoto then moved to get her letter out and began to read it aloud like her friends did with their respective letters…

* * *

_My Dearest Mikoto-chan,_

_So you're MY Mikoto-chan, huh? I think I rather like the sound of that. I'm sorry I was such an insensitive idiot – it was just that I had to get out of the village. I just couldn't stay there, anymore, not after what happened. I would have left word, but with what happened to your clan that night, I didn't know if it would be appropriate or not. Also, after what I did to Naomi, I didn't want to end up in Minato's or Kushina's crosshairs – I knew that would only bring me trouble, and possibly put me in life-threatening danger. I made what I thought to be the best decision at the time; I realize now that I could have stayed with you for a few days just to be sure that you were alright, first. I truly am sorry I didn't – please forgive me for my error in judgment._

_Of everyone that I've missed in the village, I've missed you most of all. Not a day goes by where I don't think about you and remember your kindness to me. I also remember just how beautiful you are, both inside and out, and thinking of you always makes me smile. I will be returning to Konoha in time – you can trust in that. There are some things I need to do there, but even if I had no other reason to come back, I would return just for you. I mean that, Miko-chan…you truly are that important to me._

_There's something I feel you need to know. I know this isn't going to make a whole lot of sense, but in the past year since I left Konoha, I've aged five years biologically. I am biologically seventeen years old. I tell you this because I don't want you to be shocked when you run into me in the near future. I would love to spend some time with you so that we can reconnect again. Tsunade and Kushina asked me the same thing you did as far as meeting with me to spend some time. I told them that as long as it's far away from Konoha, and preferably out of Fire Country's borders, then I'd be happy to take some time to do just that._

_Please talk with Kushina and Tsunade so that you can determine a suitable time to meet with me. Wave Country is a great place to vacation nowadays, so I'd be happy to meet up with you there. I'm looking forward to seeing you again, Miko-chan._

_Love Always,_

_Your Naru-kun (sometimes your Naruto-baka)_

* * *

As she read her letter, several emotions ran across her face: embarrassment and happiness from Naruto calling her _'his' _Mikoto-chan (as well as her reminder that she had been the one to make that claim), understanding for his reasons of not staying or letting her know of his leaving, more happiness at the fact that she would be able to see him again in the near future, and finally curiosity as to how much he has changed in the past year. Her two friends noticed the blush on her face, as well as the faraway smile showing that she was in a completely different world. Looking at each other with mischievous smirks, Kushina and Tsunade brought their hands to their mouths and coughed into them at the same time, causing Mikoto to jump.

"So where'd you go…Miko-chan?" Tsunade asked teasingly.

"Hunh?" Mikoto responded in confusion.

"Where…did…you…go…when…you…just…spaced…out?" Tsunade asked even more teasingly, stopping between each word spoken.

"Oh, err…well, um…" Mikoto began to sputter and blush while looking around this way and that trying to find something more visually appealing than the two women who were right in her and Tsunade simply laughed at the poor woman's expense, leaving Mikoto with a pout and a flustered blush. Kushina found herself immediately developing a motherly defensiveness towards Naruto for her friend wanting to move in on her boy, but she repressed the impulse just as quickly, remembering that she no longer had a right to any such feelings. She no longer had the right to a say in what Naruto did, or who he chose to do it with. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but she had to swallow it if she wanted any kind of connection with him at all.

* * *

It had been an hour and thirty minutes since the group of women read their respective letters. Kushina had been the one out of all of them to reply back to Naruto as quickly as possible. She had spoken with both Mikoto and Tsunade on how to meet Naruto in the future, along with Kushina's own thoughts on how to help Naruto wherever he was at the moment.

She decided to put all of their ideas into the letter as to let Naruto know their plans for the future. When they finished the letter, Kushina sealed the letter in a scroll and had Tsunade send it off to Naruto through the use of her slug messenger.

* * *

It was now early afternoon, and Naruto had been training in a clearing in the woods for several hours. He was just finishing up when he heard a poof. He turned his attention to where the sound originated and saw the same slug he had summoned that morning, with whispers of smoke obstructing some of its form from view. The slug opened its orifice and spat the message scroll out onto the ground in front of Naruto before disappearing in another poof of smoke.

"Thanks for the message," Naruto replies sarcastically, wanting to at least be able to thank his courier for the service it performed. Naruto opened the scroll, released the letter from the storage seal, and began to read the letter.

* * *

_Dearest Naruto-kun,_

_As much as it does hurt and disappoint me to know that mother and son are something we can never truly be anymore, I do accept that you're right. But I'm grateful that you're willing to let me be part of your life in some capacity, so I'll gladly take whatever you'll give me. I know this is probably easier said than done, but please don't blame yourself for anything that we did to you as a child. It was never your fault, and you did absolutely nothing wrong. You did not deserve any of the things we did to you. We are completely to blame. I am completely to blame. And the only thing I can do is beg you to forgive me for what I did to you, because it was cruel and it was wrong._

_I didn't even realize what I was doing until you were long gone from here. I'm so ashamed of myself for being so blind to it all that it took all of this to wake me up to what should have been beyond obvious to me. I have nothing but regrets about my behavior towards you, and I'm deeply moved that you're still willing to have anything at all to do with me after everything I've done. You're a much better man than your father, and I can already see that you've grown into a better man than we could have possibly raised you to be. Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but…I can't help but feel proud of you._

_Mikoto, Tsunade and I have started planning on how we could meet up with you someplace. We want to be able to spend a good, solid amount of time with you. I believe that a luxury cruise line just opened in Wave Country – apparently it sprang up shortly after Gato was removed from the country. The money that the liners are bringing in has been helping their economy to grow once more. We might be able to book a cruise that will last for several weeks. I don't want to overwhelm you, so if that's too much, we can scale back our plans a bit. Again, please don't worry about paying for anything if you do this with us – we'll be glad to cover it all._

_I considered what you were telling me about your lack of ninjutsu and genjutsu. I can't help but tell you how sorry I am once more than I didn't do this when you were still here, but I can be of great help to you in those. I was never particularly good at ninjutsu, but with your chakra control, maybe you will be. I can at least give you the appropriate materials to study._

_Inside the seal at the end of this scroll, I've enclosed a few things:_

_Several pieces of chakra paper, which will help you to learn what element or elements your chakra is aligned towards. Take a single piece, channel chakra into it, and it should do one or more of five things: if you're aligned to fire, the paper will burn; if wind, it will slice apart; if water like me, it will soak; if lightning, it will crumple; if earth, it will dissolve into dust. Also, the stronger your affinity to a certain element, the stronger the reaction will be in the chakra paper – lightning will crumple further, water will soak the paper through more, etc._

_A full range of ninjutsu, from the basic Academy-level jutsu to every non-elemental chunin-level jutsu that I know of, as well as a few jounin-level jutsu. I didn't want to add elemental jutsu until I know what your chakra nature is._

_A few lower-level genjutsu, if you're interested in studying them._

_One of the ninjutsu that I've included that I want you to try to learn before any of the others is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. This jutsu allows you to create solid clones of yourself, and when the clones dispel, you learn whatever they've learned during their "lifetime". I think you could use it as a great training tool as far as learning how to master techniques, or for accelerating your reading. You can't use them to train your body (unless you fight them), but you can use them to train any functions of the mind, or even chakra-related techniques._

_Also, if you want any help with your kenjutsu, I'm a master swordswoman, easily on par with any of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. I'd be glad to give you any instruction I can. Just let me know what you're having trouble with, okay?_

_You'll notice that there's another smaller seal after the main seal. You don't want to unseal what's in there until tomorrow morning. I made you some of my special recipe breakfast ramen, sealed right after it was cooked, so that you can eat it fresh. I managed to remember that you were at Teuchi's stand a lot when you were here, and he mentioned how much you ate during your visits to his stand, so I figured that you must love ramen as much as I do. I don't remember if I'd ever cooked it for you or not, so I'd love to know how you like it. I'll gladly make some for you every day if you want. Cooking is actually one of my hobbies, so I'll be happy to make all of my specialty dishes, including some from my homeland of Uzushio, and send them to you. Would you like that?_

_If you would, Naruto-kun, please let us know when you can make some time to meet up with us, and for how long, so that we can start planning. I eagerly look forward to the day where I can see you again. Thank you so much for giving me this chance! I promise you I will make the very most of it!_

_I still love you, Naruto-kun,_

_Kushina Uzumaki_

* * *

Naruto was a little shocked at Kushina's acceptance of his thoughts regarding their relationship. He was actually expecting her to object a little more strongly, but her humility touched him: even though he could no longer regard her as his mother, she was willing to take what she could get, so long as it meant being a part of his life. He couldn't help but smile at that, and at her generosity in the gifts that she'd acquired for him and sent along.

He was quite interested to see everything that Kushina had left him in the scroll, especially the ramen. He lamented at being unable to eat it just yet, so he decided to work on the shinobi arts that he had neglected during his training thus far. He opened the storage seal and, true to her word, around fifty scrolls and small pieces of paper appeared from the storage seal.

Naruto figured the little pieces of paper were the chakra paper that Kushina spoke about. He began looking at the jutsu scrolls, and noticed that ten of them were marked with the kanji for genjutsu, the technique's name, as well as their respective ranks. The ninjutsu scrolls were marked the same way as the genjutsu scrolls.

One ninjutsu scroll caught Naruto's eye: Shadow Clone Jutsu- B rank. Remembering what Kushina said about the Shadow Clone technique, he followed her advice and chose to learn this technique first. He read through the technique's description twice, and then he began to practice it.

It had been an hour since Naruto began training to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and he practically had the jutsu mastered. The first twenty minute had been spent learning the jutsu, while the remaining time was spent mastering it to a degree where he could perform it without the use of hand signs, which he thought would be helpful in the future. When he was certain that he had the jutsu down, he created five-hundred Shadow Clones.

"Alright, I want ten of you working on each scroll until you've mastered the technique," Naruto said, ordering his clones to split up to maximize his new training regimen.

"Got it, Boss!" all the clones replied at the same time.

As his clones began to work on the other scrolls, Naruto decided to try out the chakra paper and see what affinity, or hopefully affinities, he was aligned with. Channeling chakra into the paper, he got an interesting result. The paper split into two pieces with the left side becoming sopping wet, and the right crinkling into a small ball.

'Hmm, interesting… wind, water, and lightning affinities, and apparently rather strong ones at that,' he mused to himself. Naruto then decided to write a message to Kushina, explaining his new affinities and his plan to meet up with her and the rest of the gang in two months' time. He included his answer to Tsunade that he did in fact want to sign the Slug Summoning Contract.

With that, Naruto prepared a fire and made himself a meal before getting back to training his body while his clones learned all they could from the scrolls in his possession. He was going to have a lot of fun these next two months, especially when he got some scrolls for his affinities.

END

**I'D LIKE TO THANK NCPFAN FOR HIS HELP WITH THIS CHAPTER AND THE LETTERS WITHIN THE CHAPTER


	6. Old Meets New, Old Made New

Naimkagure, ch.6

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DRAGON BALL Z

**Chapter 6: Reunion- Old Meets New, Old Made New**

It was time. The three of them headed out towards the Land of Waves after their requests for leave were authorized. The Hokage and the village council were only too happy to give Kushina the leave she asked for, as she had become far more aggressive and antagonistic towards the villagers since Naruto's disappearance. Any time the woman heard so much as a derogatory comment about Naruto, she didn't just beat them – she maimed them…sometimes using her nodachi! Man, woman – didn't matter; even fresh genin weren't spared her wrath when they were heard talking. As using the nodachi didn't seem to stop people from talking badly about her Naruto, Kushina began to forgo clean blades and started using serrated edges instead.

The end result was a village with an unusually high number of citizens sporting horrible disfigurements. To complicate the situation even further, with the evidence that they knew Kushina had in her possession, they couldn't go to the Fire Daimyo or they would be the only ones who would actually be charged with any crimes and sent to prison, while Kushina would likely walk away from the encounter not only scot free, but possibly with the Daimyo's full endorsement to enact whatever justice she saw fit with regards to her son's abuse at their hands. Disfigurements would be the least of their worries, then – if that ever happened, there would be a very sudden, very sharp decline in the village's population.

They had all packed and sealed their luggage and personals into scrolls and were now leaving the village through the main gates. The moment they left the gates, they took to the trees and made their way to Wave Country at top speed. Each of them had varying feelings and thoughts about both what they left behind for now and the upcoming encounter that they would soon have with Naruto.

Mikoto had long since given up on actively pursuing open communication with Sasuke, seeing that it only served to irritate him more than anything else. She left him with an open door – a door that he sometimes took advantage of, as he did love his mother, but he would walk through that door less and less. Sasuke Uchiha was a loner in the truest sense of the word, and as much as it hurt Mikoto to see her youngest behave in such a way, she also knew that if this was who he chose to become, there was nothing she could do to dissuade him anymore. It was up to life to knock him down and teach him the hard way, now.

On the other hand, she couldn't wait to see her Naru-kun once more! Was he really seventeen years old biologically, like he claimed to be in his letter? He certainly seemed to communicate with the maturity of a man and not a child. He always had a striking face, even as a child, so what did he look like now? She couldn't help but lick her lips unconsciously as she smiled, eagerly looking forward to their upcoming rendezvous.

Tsunade's feelings were just as optimistic as Mikoto's were! Aside from being able to meet the young man that she'd been getting to know through exchanging letters, she was also excited for the chance just to go on a vacation after so long! She'd trained Shizune up to the point where she could run the hospital by herself – Tsunade didn't technically need to even be there, anymore. Her only regret about the situation was that they couldn't bring Shizune with them.

As it turned out, Shizune had begun to develop quite the crush on the boy that the other three were in contact with – just through the content of his letters alone. He seemed genuine, compassionate and truly caring, qualities that Shizune really desired in a man. In addition to meeting her godson and getting to know him, it would also be a chance for her to maybe plant seeds in Naruto's mind about a potential romance with her lovely niece. Tsunade also couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at the possibilities at getting Shizune the kind of man that she deserved.

Kushina, despite looking forward to seeing her former son, was having a much more difficult time than her two companions. She was happy about the prospect of seeing Naruto once more and hopeful about her chances of being able to reconnect with him and start over, but she was also terrified! What if he rejected her? What if she had done too much for him to ever be able to let go and give the two of them a fresh start? Even knowing what she now knew, could she really understand just how much she had hurt him? She knew on some level that Naruto had barely scratched the surface behind what she and their former family had put him through, but could she even handle knowing the whole truth behind the pain she'd caused him?

There was also the dilemma about her mental image of him: last year, he was a twelve year old boy, and that was the most current image she had of him in her head. She'd had so much to think on in the last year and a half. In that time, she had realized some hard truths about the family that he had to escape from. Even though she planned on providing him with a place to stay after being disinherited, why would he even want to stay in a home where he wasn't loved? She couldn't ever remember seeing him smiling or happy. Mikoto, Asuma and the Ichirakus had on many occasions – they had told her so, but he was never happy when he had been around her. She knew it was her fault – she'd never done anything to induce a smile from him. The only things she could remember ever seeing in his eyes were heartache, fear and rage.

Another factor to consider was that if Naruto's letter was to be believed, then five and a half years had passed for him, not the one and a half that the rest of them lived. That could make things easier or harder. It could make it easier in that when someone works through their anger and hurt, healing does take place over time. It could make it harder in that he had more time to decide to put any thoughts of returning to his family behind him, never to look back. Ironically, she concluded that only time would tell what time had done to him.

She was brought out of her reminiscence by a soft hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that it was Mikoto who had placed the hand on her shoulder. She gave the redhead a reassuring smile, as if to tell her that everything was going to be alright. Kushina gave a weak smile in gratitude to her friend before they once more faced forward. She also noticed the wetness on her face, telling her that she must have started crying as she thought about the terrible things she'd done. There was nothing more to do about that – all she could do now is love Naruto and show him that she wouldn't even think of doing anything like that ever again.

It only took them three hours to reach Wave at the pace they were setting. Once they reached the coast, they arrived at the head of…the Great Naruto Bridge?! Even more interesting were the two painted faces at the entry gateway – both of them Naruto's, but very different. One had the black hair and blue eyes that they all knew, where the other had spiky blond hair with bluish-green eyes. Both of them were smiling wide, the black-haired one grinning with a happy twinkle, the blond one grinning not quite as widely and winking. Both of them showed the visage of a truly benevolent man.

"Wow, they got Naruto's smile down perfectly!" Mikoto remarked, admiring the work.

Kushina simply looked at both smiling faces in wonder, 'So this is what his smile looks like? He looks so happy. If I had only seen such an expression on his face even once, I would have completely melted and forgotten any anger I ever had towards him…'

Kushina's face slowly morphed into a sad yet proud smile as she shed a single tear. Tsunade looked at Naruto's faces and at Kushina before a smile spread across her own face. She was happy for Kushina – for the chance that she was getting to reconnect with Naruto, even if it couldn't be as a parent to a child. She was also quite happy for her own chance to finally get to know him.

They were so close. If Naruto had kept to his word and to his plans, then he was only a few hundred short yards away! Kushina was the first to take off running, weaving her way through the traffic on the bridge at near-breakneck speeds. Her only goal was to find her Naruto – everything else was forgotten! Mikoto and Tsunade both giggled softly at their dear friend's impetuous and excited impatience before following her in.

They reached the other side of the bridge and noticed that it opened into a square. In the middle of the square was a statue of Naruto, standing tall and proud with his feet shoulder-width apart, his tail sprouting out behind him and upward as if it was wagging. His arms were at his sides, bent at the elbows with clenched fists, and a fierce, focused, determined grimace on his face. He was much more muscular than they remembered him being, and he really did look older as well. At the base of the statue was an engraved plaque with an inscription, which all three of them chose to inspect more closely.

* * *

Naruto, Wave Country's Greatest Hero

He gave us hope when we were hopeless.  
He gave us strength when we were weak.  
He gave us courage when we were afraid.

Most of all, he gave us freedom when we were enslaved by Gato's tyranny.

His example and his generosity will be remembered by Wave's people for all time.

* * *

All of their eyes went wide as they read the inscription, Kushina and Tsunade with shock, Mikoto with pride and admiration. It had been Naruto who had freed this country from Gato? Naruto was the one responsible for the prosperity that these people were enjoying? Tsunade and Kushina would never have guessed that Naruto would be capable of something like this. They looked at Mikoto, who just seemed to have a knowing smile – she certainly didn't look surprised!

"Good for you, Naruto," Mikoto praised quietly, as though she expected Naruto to pull something like this off.

Kushina and Tsunade chose to hold their piece for now; they wouldn't have known what to say anyway. They continued on, taking to the rooftops in their search for the young man they had come here to meet and spend time with. They continued to leap through the village, garnering the attention of many of the villagers below. They ignored the stares, focusing solely on catching sight of their target.

Surprisingly enough, it was Kushina who saw him first. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a young man, maybe six feet in height roughly was walking down the street below with his back to her. She didn't recognize the outfit that he had on – a simple off-white sleeveless gi-top tied closed with a black belt, and wearing dark blue gi pants tucked into black boots – but she would recognize that hair anywhere. As he walked, men greeted him in a very friendly manner, while women would gush at him. He would simply wave at them while continuing on his way.

Kushina jumped down to the street a few yards behind him and cried out, "Naruto?"

He stopped and after a few moments, he slowly turned around. There it was – the whisker-marked face adorned with electric blue eyes, which were now gazing upon Kushina Uzumaki in surprise and more than a little apprehension. He didn't even notice Mikoto and Tsunade as they jumped down behind her.

"Naruto?!" Kushina cried out even louder as she ran to him. He flinched and raised his hand in a defensive reflex as she charged him. Kushina ignored the flinch and stopped the moment she was in arm's reach, bringing her hands up and placing them all over his body, as though feeling him to make sure he was real.

She continued her frantic exploration of Naruto upper arms and chest while flitting her gaze this way and that all over his body, her expression just as frantic as her movements. She eventually reached his face, placing a hand on each cheek, caressing them with her thumbs before rubbing the skin of his face down to his neck. A few tears began to escape her eyes as she continued her probing.

She eventually moved down to his waist. Naruto tensed up, knowing what she was looking for, but to his surprise, when she lifted the hem of his top to feel for his tail, she was surprisingly gentle when she touched it. She caressed his tail gingerly, as if to just make sure it was still there.

Satisfied that he was really standing before her, her voice broke as she looked up to his face and said, "Kami, it is you!"

She immediately threw herself into him and started sobbing and wailing loudly into his chest, soaking his gi while she threw her arms around him, clinging to him as though he was her very lifeline. She tried speaking, but her words were simply unintelligible. She allowed her legs to collapse, dropping to her knees and sliding down his body. She was now crying into his stomach, while still uttering words that were incomprehensible through her tears.

Naruto just looked around, bewildered. It was then that he noticed Mikoto and Tsunade. Tsunade regarded him with a warm, affectionate smile, while Mikoto was both smiling and crying at the same time. She simply nodded at him, and he knew what she was telling him to do.

Naruto knelt down to one knee while maintaining Kushina's grip on him, and wrapped his own arms around the woman. Kushina, feeling this, clung to Naruto even more tightly and began to cry even louder. She pulled her face out of his chest and rested her chin on his shoulder, bring one of her arms behind his neck and holding him to her by the back of his head.

"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…" she kept repeating to him over and over as she got quieter, her energy leaving her upon having cried so hard.

"I know…I know…" Naruto repeated in response to every apology she gave him, sliding his own hand up to the back of her head and holding her to himself just as gently as she was.

'His voice – it's so much deeper than before,' were the thoughts of both Kushina and Mikoto as Naruto let the woman he once called his mother cry in his arms.

Naruto moved to let go of Kushina, but stopped when she cried out, "No!" and clung to him even more tightly.

When he looked at her in confusion, she explained herself, "Please…just hold me for a few more minutes? I don't want you to let me go yet, and I don't want to let you go, either."

Naruto didn't fully understand her request, but nonetheless acquiesced with a nod. Kushina leaned into him once more as he gently tightened his hold on her. He felt her hands roaming his back and coming around his chest, just rubbing both clothing and skin. He also couldn't help but notice the feel of her womanly assets against his form – it was something that he'd never paid attention to before when received a hug from a woman.

His body began to react when she started becoming more affectionate with him. She kissed his face several times, and he twice caught her licking her lips after kissing him. She also buried her face into his chest or into his hair several times, inhaling deeply as if to take in his body's smell.

'What is she doing?' Naruto wondered, confused about her actions, though he made no move to stop her. Eventually, she pulled back a few inches and brought both of her hands into his hair, gently strumming her fingers through it while also clenching her hands in it as well. She did this while pulling his head down towards hers and touching her forehead to her own.

Mikoto and Tsunade both noted the confusion on Naruto's face, as did Kushina. Kushina was still shedding tears, though she wasn't crying vocally anymore.

Seeing his confusion, she explained herself once again, "I'm sorry – this must be rather strange to you…" Naruto nodded in agreement before she continued, "…this helps me get to know you, that's all."

"Hunh?" Naruto asked, no less confused than he was before.

"What she means, Naru-kun…" Mikoto elaborated with a smile and drawing his attention towards her, "…is that she's very sensuous. This is one of the ways in which she can familiarize herself with you – she learns through her senses, much the same way that you do through your body. What you feel like, your scent…even how you taste, if she can get away with it – these are things that stand out to her about people. This is her first step in really trying to get to know you."

Naruto looked back at Kushina, who confirmed Mikoto's explanation with a nod. She then brought her hands from his hair to his face and started caressing his cheeks once more, this time using the whole of each hand instead of just her thumbs. The expression on her face was still one of desperation, though it was milder now.

Naruto simply smiled softly, closed his eyes and let her go. Kushina responded in kind, relinquishing her hold on him. She sighed regretfully when he turned his attention to Tsunade and Mikoto. Mikoto looked at Tsunade and nodded.

Tsunade smiled at Naruto and approached him, opening her arms to hug him. Naruto smiled in turn and moved towards her, gently pulling her into his arms as they neared each other.

"Mmmm…" Tsunade moaned out happily as Naruto held her. They separated after a few moments and pulled back, Naruto's hands coming to rest on Tsunade's shoulders, while Tsunade's hands came up to Naruto's face.

Naruto could see great affection towards him in her eyes, while he looked at her with a contented, warm smile. Tsunade's eyes began to well up ever so slightly, the salty liquid giving an additional gleam to her eyes.

"It's so great to finally meet you, Naruto-kun," Tsunade greeted him with an affectionate smile.

"You too, Tsunade-chan…" Tsunade's eyes widened slightly at his use of the affectionate suffix, "…you too."

Naruto pulled her into a warm hug once more, which Tsunade returned. Tsunade brought a hand up to his cheek, bringing his face towards hers and planting a lingering kiss on his other cheek. She released him once she'd pulled away from her kiss. She caressed the spot where she'd just kissed him with her fingers. Once more, he couldn't help but notice the feel of a woman's breasts pressed into him, but this time he also noticed a feminine, flowery scent. His body began to betray him once more, but his thoughts were brought back to the present by the sound of Tsunade's voice.

"I've been looking forward to getting to really know you for such a long time, now," Tsunade said endearingly, "and we've all been counting the minutes since we made plans to come here."

"I've been geared about this time, myself…" Naruto closed his eyes and laughed softly before continuing, "…it's funny, though – other than spending time with all of you, I don't think I'm gonna know what to do with myself. All I ever really do is train and travel around looking for more training."

Tsunade giggled at this as she responded, "Well, I'm sure we can figure all that out. We'll have a good couple of months together, after all."

Naruto smiled good-naturedly as he let her go. He then turned his attention to Mikoto, and his own eyes began to well. His smile also changed, becoming warm, loving and sad. He slowly approached the beautiful woman, looking at her as though for the very first time. This woman – this radiant, beautiful woman – with as lovely a form as he had ever seen…a form rivaled only by the two women with her…his Miko-chan.

As Naruto began his tentative approach, Mikoto's eyes also began to well as her smile fell into an overwhelmed frown. Sobs began to escape her throat as everything and everyone else around her faded away, leaving only her and Naruto. She didn't know what to feel upon seeing him, especially taking note of how he was looking at her – as though she was his very world. He was a mere boy but a year and a half ago, but now, here he was – a full grown man! She felt ecstatic joy, overwhelming sadness and physical arousal all at once! She ran towards him and, much like Kushina, she sobbed into his chest and wrapped his arms around his neck.

Naruto allowed the tears to fall from his eyes, the joy he was experiencing upon seeing this precious creature beyond language's ability to explain. After a few moments of being held by him, in a sudden moment of impulse or clarity, she pulled her face out of his chest and slammed her lips right into his, shoving her tongue into his mouth, sobbing even while kissing him. Naruto was stunned, but allowed his instincts to take over as his own tongue danced with hers on its own accord. He could do naught but gape with wide eyes while doing this, Kushina and Tsunade gaping just as he was at the advances of their friend towards this young man. Gaping still, Naruto gently placed his hands on Mikoto's waist and held her in place gently.

After she pulled away, she looked once more into his eyes, tears still flowing freely down her face. Naruto's stunned gape never left his face, bringing a laugh out of Mikoto, who gently lifted her fingers to his chin and closed his mouth for him.

"We don't want anything flying in there, now, do we?" she asked with a laugh.

Naruto shook his head and brought himself back to the present before laughing sheepishly and scratching the back of his head.

Mikoto separated from him and took one step back, while Tsunade and Kushina both strode forward and stopped by their friend.

"So…" Naruto began somewhat awkwardly, "…are any of you hungry?"

* * *

Lunch had been interesting for some and awkward for others. Naruto was much more talkative with Mikoto and Tsunade, while he and Kushina both seemed nervous about talking to each other. Kushina didn't really know how she could enter the conversation that Naruto was having with the others, and Naruto didn't know what to say to Kushina at all. He didn't even know how to interact with her or what to expect, but he did try to include her when he could by commenting on the many different dishes she'd sent to him on a daily basis or on how his training was going with the material she had sent him, though he always had a somewhat nervous smile on his face when talking to her. She was able to sense his unease and opted mostly to watch and observe him, speaking only when spoken to.

Naruto had informed them all, with regret in his voice towards Mikoto, of his budding relationship with Haku Momochi. He was surprised that none of them reacted. Tsunade then explained to him that as the sole remaining known male of the Uzumaki Clan, he had certain privileges that were universally recognized in every nation. One such privilege was the taking of multiple wives in order to expand the clan's numbers very quickly to once again make them strong. Once he heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief before gaping in panic and lamenting over how he would have no idea about how to keep so many different wives happy and satisfied…as well as away from each others' throats. Kushina, Mikoto and Tsunade all laughed at Naruto's reaction, though they all found it to be quite insightful of Naruto that he could see that potential challenge before it even occurred.

Not too long afterwards, Naruto led the three to the place where they would stay for the week before their cruise liner would leave from part: Tazuna's Family Inn. Once he had freed Wave from Gato, Tazuna and his family renovated their home and expanded it, turning it into a rather large and well-to-do inn. It was no five-star hotel, but it was very pleasant and cozy, with warm fires burning in the hearth of the lobby/dining area and the aromas and tastes of home-cooked meals at the appropriate times. It was a place of family and camaraderie.

Tazuna, Kaiza, Tsunami and Inari were all there to greet Naruto and his entourage upon their arrival. Naruto introduced the three of them to the family, though when they learned Kushina's name, all of their eyes narrowed and their gazes prolonged on her, as if studying her. Kaiza, Tazuna and Inari all showed Naruto, Tsunade and Mikoto to their rooms. Kushina had been about to follow them before being stopped by Tsunami's voice.

"Kushina-san, a moment, please?" she told the redhead somewhat seriously before gesturing for Kushina to follow her. Kushina nodded and followed the raven-haired beauty who looked so similar to Mikoto that they could have been relatives. Tsunami led her into the back office and closed the door once Kushina was in the room.

Turning to Kushina, she began, "Let me be candid with you: all of my family knows exactly what you and the rest of Naruto's family did to him before he left Konoha…" Kushina simply listened without so much as flinching or adopting any kind of defensive posture, "…and we were all very, very angry about it. When Naruto told us that you would be coming here, we all wanted to string you up and skin you alive, but he informed us that you've changed, and that through your letters to him and gifts to him, you've done a lot to prove that to him."

Kushina simply nodded in acknowledgment that she was listening before Tsunami continued, "But there's something I want you to understand."

Tsunami's face became grim, her gaze turning harder than steel, "We love Naruto, here. We will not suffer any harm coming to him, and we will not let anyone hurt him or break his heart – especially not you. We will have our eye on you, and if we deem it necessary, we will take steps to protect Naruto from you. We won't let you do what you did to him again – not under my roof. Are we clear?"

"Yes," Kushina replied with a nod and a small smile.

Tsunami frowned at her answer in confusion, "That's it? Yes?"

"That's it," Kushina responded, "I'm glad that there are people who are as protective of him as you are. And you're right to be angry, because I wronged him horribly when he was still at home. Sadly, I was too blind and foolish to even realize what I was doing to him, and it took him escaping from us for me to wake up to it."

Kushina straightened herself up and looked Tsunami dead in the eye, "I'm here because I want to make whatever amends I possibly can with him; nothing more. My actions were inexcusable, and I won't make any excuses for them. I shouldn't have been so blind and so stupid when he was still at home, and it was my fault that I allowed myself to become that way. So I'll gladly prove to you, to your family, and to anyone else I have to, that I have changed, and that I love Naruto. I'll do all I can to earn your trust just like I'll do all I can to earn his. Will you give me the chance to, Tsunami-san?"

Tsunami was floored by this woman. From what she'd heard from Naruto, this wasn't the same woman who had slapped him around or vented her anger out on him at every seeming opportunity that presented itself. Knowing that Naruto, having been the one to go through it all, was willing to give her a chance, she knew that she had no right to not do the same.

Tsunami nodded, "Yes, Kushina-san. I will give you the chance, and so will the rest of my family. We'll do it because we know Naruto would want us to. And…" Tsunami paused before looking her in the eye once more, "…thank you. Thank you for being so forthcoming, yourself. Of all the things I could have expected from you, taking ownership in this way certainly wasn't one of them."

Tsunami moved toward the door and opened it, turning to Kushina with a smile, "That said, welcome to our home, Kushina-san."

Tsunami then gestured for Kushina to follow her once more, with Kushina obliging. She led Kushina up the stairs to the third floor of the inn, then to the suite that she'd set Naruto and the girls up in: a three-bedroom suite in the inn with its own living area and even its own balcony.

* * *

Haku had just gotten back from Naruto's secret training ground where he along with Zabuza and herself were training kids to be future ninjas in Namikagure.

As she began walking into the village she heard a woman shout "Naruto?!"

She quickly made her way to the origin of the voice, and what she saw next would shake her world.

A red haired woman was clinging onto Naruto like he was a life-line, while he seemed to be comforting her. Another woman came up and hugged him for a minute or so, but nothing compared to what she saw this last woman do.

The last woman, with black hair with black eyes, grabbed him into a warm embrace like they knew each other for years. Then, the woman did something Haku didn't expect. The woman KISSED him, and he didn't seem to mind considering he didn't stop her from kissing him.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing, she had thought of walking right up to the group and start to raise hell but she decided to get the answers her womanly pride demanded in her own subtle way.

* * *

It had been two hours since Naruto, Kushina, Mikoto, and Tsunade decided to call it a night. Naruto himself was just about to fall asleep when he noticed the temperature drop several degrees as well as the feeling a killing intent permeated the air.

His training had allowed him to react quickly to the situation. He wasn't prepared to see Haku in the living room staring at him with tears running down her eyes and a cold expression on her face. Without a word, she lunged at him, and thanks to his training with instant transmission he was able to teleport Haku and him to a location where they could work out whatever problems were going on that caused Haku to do this.

"Haku-chan, what are you doing?! What's wrong, and why are you doing this?" asked Naruto, who was confused as to why Haku was acting like this.

"Hmph, like you don't know! And don't even try to play dumb with me!" she shouted with anger and sadness laced in her voice, "I know you were with other women! I saw you kiss that black-haired one, and I know that you're in the same room at the inn as all of them!"

His eyes widened as she said this. He began to speak, "Haku-chan, give me a chance to expl…"

"Explain what?! About how you've been two timing me behind my back?!" she interrupted him furiously, "Or how about the fact that you'd rather be with whores than me?!"

"Haku-chan…"

He wasn't able to say any more as she began attacking him. He dodged all of her attacks, both physical and elemental. He quickly used his superior speed and strength to bind her in a bear hug to where she couldn't escape. She began screaming, but after a few minutes she was reduced to sobbing.

"Why?" she choked out between sobs.

"Haku-chan, let me explain. Please," he said in a soft but firm tone. She gave no indication of acknowledging his request, so Naruto simply began to explain and relay all the information he learned today from who the women were to the CRA.

After hearing him, her form relaxed quite a bit which showed Naruto that she was willing to fully listen to what he was saying. He stayed with her, holding and comforting her till she was finally in a good mood.

"Can I meet them?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Of course you can, first thing tomorrow," Naruto replied.

After a few more minutes, Naruto took Haku to her room where he laid her down and created a shadow clone to stay with her for the night. Naruto then proceeded to go back to his couch in the suite that he was sleeping on.

* * *

It was quiet and dark, just as one would expect in the watches of the late-night/early-morning. Midnight had passed over an hour ago, and Kushina simply couldn't fall asleep. She was troubled at how Naruto was keeping his distance from her. She understood completely why he would, but at the same time, she knew that if they didn't talk about this, Kushina's continued presence would really put a damper on everyone else's time away. To further complicate things, she wouldn't be able to earn the trust of Wave's people, either – not until she was able to establish even a small degree of trust from Naruto.

Sighing in frustration, she got out of bed and went to her wardrobe to retrieve her silk robe in order to cover up the lingerie she was sleeping in. Once she tied her robe, she quietly left her bedroom and made her way towards the balcony. As she peered into the living room area, however, she noticed that Naruto wasn't asleep on the couch, and the sheets that he'd been using looked as though he'd just gotten out of them himself. She looked outwards toward the balcony through the sliding glass door and saw that he was standing outside, wearing only his pants and boots, his back to her as he was leaning against the railing overlooking the edge of the structure, his gaze seeming to peer out into the bay. The sliding-glass door was open, and the cool night breeze was flowing in.

Kushina made her way out the open sliding-glass door and crept quietly towards the still form of the black-haired man that she could no longer call her son. If Naruto noticed her, he made no indication that he did. Once she reached him, she slid her arms around his front and hugged him from the back. Naruto didn't even stiffen or flinch; he simply sighed and hung his head slightly.

"Can't sleep?" Kushina asked softly.

"No," Naruto responded just a little above a whisper.

"Me neither…" Kushina responded, pausing for a few moments before continuing, "…Naruto, does my being here bother you?"

Naruto frowned in slight confusion, narrowing his eyes and turning his head back very slightly before asking, "What do you mean?"

"Does it bother you that I'm here with Mikoto and Tsunade? It…" she closed her eyes and paused once more for just a moment before finishing her thought, "…feels like you don't want me here. At least…it feels like you don't want to talk to me."

She pulled back slightly, allowing her hands to slide across his front towards his sides, "I don't want you to be uncomfortable, Naruto. If you want, I can pack up and head back…"

"You've got it wrong…Kushina," Naruto interrupted her, his voice just as soft as it had been, "It's not that I don't want you here, or that I don't want to talk to you. It's just that…when I look at you, I just don't know what to say."

He pushed himself off the railing and turned himself around to face her, "I do want to talk to you; I just don't know where to start."

"Why not?" Kushina asked in a patient and understanding manner.

Naruto pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and gazing upon Kushina's face once more. He began with a sigh, "I don't want to hurt your feelings with my answer…"

"Don't worry about that," Kushina interrupted him softly, "You said that we could start over, and I'm truly grateful that you're willing to give me a chance to do that. But I also know that given our past, it's just not that simple. I came here knowing that we would have some unfinished business that needs to be laid to rest. I'm ready to listen to anything you have to say."

Naruto looked into her eyes to see if he could find any sign of deceit. What he saw surprised him – he couldn't ever remember seeing anything but anger and rage in those eyes, and a furious grimace on that face whenever it looked his way. In their place, he now saw patience, warmth and love. He also saw hopeful anticipation and an earnest eagerness to help him and to make their relationship whole once more, and failing that, to simply make it anew.

"You're right," he conceded with a nod and a weak smile, "and…thank you. I'm trying to deal with this as best I can, but it's just that…every time I see your face, my head plays tricks on me."

Kushina frowned in confusion, prompting Naruto to explain himself, "I mean that whenever I look at you, flashes of what you looked like whenever you were angry with me seem to…superimpose themselves on you in my mind. I feel like I'm always…waiting for the other shoe to drop, and I can't the feeling that I need to keep my guard up in case I'm attacked again. Does that make sense?"

Kushina closed her eyes as tears began to flow from them, "Yes, it does. And I'm truly sorry that you have to deal with such a burden…"

"But it's my burden to bear, Kushina," he interrupted, again softly, bringing his hands up and placing them on her shoulders, "This isn't your problem. I know that what's done is done, and it can't be undone, but I can also see that you would never do those things now."

"Naruto-kun…" she brought a hand around his side, rubbing up his chest and rested it on his face, "…it may be your burden to bear, but I am the one responsible for placing that burden on you. It's not a burden that you should have to bear…and if I can, I want to help lift that burden from you."

Naruto simply stared at her, frowning in pained confusion as if not know what to do at that moment.

Kushina simply smiled the most loving smile he could ever imagine seeing on her face. Coupled with the regret and pain he could see in her eyes – pain over what she'd done to him – he felt the burden that he'd just described to her begin to lift…even if only slightly. He shed a single tear and smiled back in acceptance of what she had just given him, pulling her into an embrace. Kushina snaked both her arms around his neck and hugged him across his shoulders, planting a lingering kiss on the side of his face.

After a few minutes of this, they both pulled back to regard each other again. Kushina studied Naruto intently, as if to see if he was still burdened. It was there – it wasn't as strong, but she could still see it.

Bringing a hand up to his face once more and caressing his cheek, she offered warmly, "You said that you couldn't talk to me because you didn't know where to start. Why don't we start by talking about how I've hurt you?"

Naruto tensed up at this. Kushina, noticing his tension, moved in to hold him once more, rubbing her hands across his back in an effort to calm him.

"Please, don't be afraid, Naru-kun," Kushina reassured him, not noticing how she shortened his name in an affectionate way, "I promise you I'll let you get it all out. I…I want you to be able to feel safe with me."

"It's not telling you about it that's the issue," Naruto explained, trying to keep his voice as even as he could, "It's the idea of having to re-live it all that terrifies me."

Kushina abruptly pulled back and gave him a concerned frown, "What do you mean?"

"Well, what I mean is…" Naruto paused as though trying to find the right words to convey his meaning. After a few moments, he continued, "…you know, it's probably best that I show you. Go ahead and get dressed – I'll take us somewhere that's a few miles away from here."

Kushina's frown morphed into one of confusion before she raised a dubious eyebrow. After regarding him for a few minutes, she decided to take his word for it with a nod. Heading back inside, she went into her room, only to emerge a few moments later in some casual civilian gear. Naruto held out his arm to her and gestured for her to come to him. She did, and as she neared him, he wrapped his arm around her. She noticed that in an instant they were someplace completely different – there was no indication of any jutsu used; the only indicator that they had gone anywhere was the fact that their surroundings were suddenly different. Kushina would have thought it was a genjutsu, but unless Naruto hadn't been completely honest with her, the only genjutsu he had were the ones she sent him. Aside from that, there was no usage of chakra for the technique.

Blinking a few times, she left Naruto's grasp and looked around before turning back to Naruto, "What did you do?"

"It's called Instant Transmission. As long as I've either been to the area, or I can sense something I want to go to, I can get there instantly. I've also trained with it so much that I haven't had the need to place my fore and index fingers to initiate the technique."

"That's…handy," Kushina commented with an impressed nod.

"I think so," Naruto responded with a knowing smile before his face became serious, "Now, for the reason I brought you out here. I'm going to need you to stand back."

Kushina nodded and took a few steps back, stopping only when Naruto indicated that she'd gone far enough. What happened next shocked Kushina, as she felt a sudden surge of power, the nature and magnitude of which was completely unlike anything she'd ever experienced before! Naruto began to glow with some kind of golden light, when suddenly, his hair became even spikier and began to stand up, his irises started to glow a strange green color, and his hair suddenly turned golden blond! The golden glow around his body was now even more accentuated, as if his awesome power was taking physical form! She didn't even remember the Kyuubi feeling this powerful!

"Wha…what is this?" Kushina asked in stunned awe.

Naruto answered, even his voice seeming to radiate power now, "The reason I'm showing you this is because for what I'm about to tell you to make any sense, you need to understand that I'm not a human being – I never was. I am what is known as a Saiyan. I was genetically transformed into this when you were still pregnant with me – I still don't know all the particulars of it, but I do know that the Shinigami himself sealed the spirit and power of our distant ancestor, Son Goku, inside of me in order to train my abilities. It's why I was born with black hair and a tail.

"Right now, the form you're seeing is a Saiyan's form when he has ascended into the ranks of the Super Saiyans of Legend. My power, speed, strength, durability – all have increased many times over. I'm quite literally powerful enough to destroy this entire planet if I chose to do so. Saiyans can also transform into Kyuubi-sized apes when there is a full moon out. Our eyes absorb the light that the moon reflects from the sun, which produce a chemical reaction within our tails that trigger the transformation."

Kushina simply blinked in astonishment. Even the Kyuubi wasn't anywhere near this powerful! Given the power she could feel radiating off of him, she believed his claim. She couldn't do anything except nod in acknowledgment that she'd heard him.

"The reason I'm showing you this, Kushina, is because for a Saiyan to reach this level of power, he has to experience either a life-or-death situation where his only chance of survival is to push through to ascension, or he must become so enraged that he either pushes through his own physical and emotional limits to achieve this state…or completely lose his mind."

Kushina nodded once again.

"What you need to understand, Kushina, is that the only way I could bring myself to become enraged enough to get to this level…" he paused to make sure that he had her attention before finishing, "…was to remember and re-live the things that you specifically put me through."

Kushina gasped in shock, which turned into utter horror. She was the one person who had hurt him enough to bring enough rage into his heart that he could have possibly lost his mind to it?! She knew she had hurt him; she knew she had hurt him in ways she might never know or understand, but the full weight of just what she had done to him was now pressing down upon her like an avalanche! She collapsed to her knees as she brought her hands to her mouth. Naruto noticed this and quickly moved towards her, kneeling down to make sure she was alright.

She stared straight ahead blankly, muttering, "I…I had no idea…I had no idea…Kami, what have I done?"

She began to shed tears once more, too shocked to even utter a sound while weeping. She brought her horrified gaze to Naruto's own. Seeing nothing but compassion and generosity in his eyes, she broke down completely, throwing herself into his chest and sobbing just as she had when she first saw him after so much time apart.

"I'm so sorry…I had no idea…that I'd been such a…a monster!" she sobbed out. Naruto once more put his arms around the woman, rubbing her back much the same way that she had rubbed his earlier.

"I know that…" he acknowledged quietly, "…and I do believe that. If you didn't care, I know you wouldn't be here with me, now."

He allowed her to once more cry herself out as she let it sink in just how badly she had hurt Naruto, even if she couldn't truly recall all of the things she had done. Despite how powerful she knew he was, she actually found the power he was emanating to be rather soothing, as though it came from a truly loving and warm soul whose only desire was to protect and to do all the good that he possibly could. After a few minutes of this, she regained control of herself before slowly pulling just far enough away so that she could look Naruto in the eye once more.

Despite the fear and uncertainty he saw in her gaze, she said to him in a determined voice, "Naru-kun, I want you to tell me everything you remember."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be stunned! Despite knowing that she had hurt him and driven him to further and greater rage than any other person alive, she was prepared to know exactly what it was that she did to drive him to that?!

He couldn't help but cast her a warning glance, "Kushina-chan…are you sure you want me to do that? Are you sure you can handle knowing?"

She noticed the affectionate suffix but paid it no mind, "It's not an issue of what I want, Naru-kun. I need to know it all. If I'm going to repair or rebuild our relationship…I need to know exactly what I did in order to destroy it in the first place. Please…trust me? Tell me?"

Her requests were pleading in their tone and urgency, so as she had asked, Naruto told her everything. He told her about his first beating after he had just turned three, when he had been beaten into unconsciousness and nearly killed. He still had no idea how he had survived, but he told her that she and the others hadn't even paid him any mind, despite the fact that he'd come home covered in blood and littered with cuts, and his arm and leg were both misshapen from being cleanly broken. He told her of the time when she'd berated and slapped him at Ichiraku's when he had beaten up the men who were trying to rape Ayame. He also told her about how he had felt when Naomi had been given the title of heiress of the clan, because they'd chosen not to even bother training him, and about how he felt like he never had parents. There were several other instances that he'd told her about, but those three were the ones that had struck her the hardest.

As he recalled the events to her, they all came rushing back with a vengeance. It was almost as if she'd repressed them, or been made to repress them! She still couldn't believe that she had done those things, but what was even worse in her mind were the things she hadn't done! She hadn't been a mother to Naruto – not since he could walk or talk! She hadn't actively loved him, or given him any room in her heart left to be her child!

Still on her knees, she immediately fell prostrate to the ground in front of Naruto, who couldn't help but flinch in surprise. She was kneeling before him and bowing her head to the ground in what he knew to be the most sincere display of humility that a person would give to another!

"I beg you…forgive me," Kushina said softly, tears breaking her voice yet again, "Please…forgive me. I have wronged you in ways that nobody who calls themselves human should ever wrong another, especially not when it's their child that they have committed such…atrocities against. I know I will never deserve your forgiveness, but that's…that's the reason I ask for it. I owe you a moral debt that I will never be able to repay. Please forgive me…so that we truly can start over. Please…"

She sobbed silently, never moving her head from the ground. After about a minute of this, Naruto moved toward her and knelt down himself. He placed his hands on both of hers, taking them in his own, and lifted her from the ground by her hands. As she looked at him, she saw his radiant smile, and his eyes looked as if his burden was now completely gone. There was nothing but forgiveness and acceptance of her in his eyes now. She smiled and sobbed, this time for joy. Naruto pulled her into another hug, which she returned gratefully and forcefully. This time, it was Naruto who kissed the side of her face.

He whispered in her ear, "I do forgive you. And thank you. What you did here just now – being willing to acknowledge our past…all of it…and showing such humility and ownership toward it all – that took immense courage, and it could only come from a caring and loving heart…"

She sniffled in gratitude at his praise and compliments as he continued, "…and I'm actually glad you're here with me. I'm just glad that I can finally get to know you as you truly are."

Kushina's hug tightened in response to his words before she let him go. She stepped out of his embrace as he allowed it to drop. She suddenly began to study him even more, appraising him from head to toe. Naruto looked at her with a confused smile, but waited patiently for her to finish.

"Naru-kun…" she began, "…how long can you maintain this form?"

"Hunh?" he asked in confusion before looking down at himself and realizing what she was talking about, "Oh, you mean my Super Saiyan form. Well, I can actually maintain it indefinitely right now, but I do like to be able to switch it off so that I can train in my base form. The stronger my base form, the stronger I am as a super saiyan, after all."

"Well…" Kushina responded, this time with a slight blush, "…why don't you...stay in this form for the rest of our vacation? You actually look…strikingly handsome as you are right now."

"Oh…" he responded with a mildly-embarrassed chuckle, "…err, thank you."

"Yeah…" she breathed out with a smile before catching herself and adding, "…well, I guess we ought to be getting back, then, huh?"

"Yeah, we probably should," he conceded. She moved towards him so that he could do his Instant Transmission trick that he did before. He was about to perform the technique before he stopped. Kushina looked up at him and noticed that he seemed to be in thought.

A smile crept across his face before he looked down at her and said, "You know, I think I'll use an alternate form of transportation to get us back to our room."

"Oh? What alternate form of transportation would that be?"

Naruto stood behind her and placed both hands on her waist. The next thing Kushina knew, she was being lifted off the ground, higher and higher…and higher…into the air! She noticed that Naruto shifted position, holding one hand around her waist while positioning himself to her left.

"You…can fly?!" Kushina exclaimed, utterly astonished at the amazing feat that Naruto was actually performing solely for her benefit.

"Yes, I can. I do it through the use of ki."

"This is…" Kushina couldn't find the word so she just shouted out, "…amazing!"

Naruto saw that she had the biggest grin he had ever seen on her face. He also found himself noticing just how nice her body felt – firm and well-muscled, yet still quite soft and feminine. Naruto took one of her hands in his free hand and used it to place her hand in the hand that he had just removed from her waist. She was now flying with him, holding his hand as they soared freely through the air! She noticed the light of the crescent moon reflecting off of the water that they were flying directly over.

Naruto descended gently until they were just over the surface of the still waters. Kushina looked over at him, and he just smiled warmly in return. She turned her gaze to the water and extended a single finger into it, allowing her fingertip to create waves and ripples that spread outward from where her finger made contact with the water.

After several minutes of this, Naruto took the opposite approach and took her high above the clouds, showing her the starry brilliance of a night sky that was untainted by artificial light. Kushina just took in the wondrous spectacle of nature that Naruto was now giving her the chance to enjoy, allowing herself to be dazzled at the sheer majesty of it all. Naruto then proceed to fly over an area that wasn't cloudy at all, allowing the brightness of the moon and the night sky's stars to illuminate lush jungles and majestic mountainous peaks, broken by the occasional waterfall. Kushina's breath had been taken away more and more by the magnificent sights Naruto was showing her.

After he had spent the better part of an hour flying her around Wave Country and the neighboring islands, he finally flew back in the direction of the inn. As their balcony came into sight, Naruto pulled Kushina back in and picked her legs up in his free arm, flying her back down in a bridal carry. As they slowly descended, Kushina's gaze turned back to Naruto's face. It was adorned with a contented, peaceful smile, as though all was right with his world at that moment. What was a slight flush suddenly turned into a very strong one. Her breathing quickened and her heart suddenly began to start beating faster. Despite the idea of her feelings being morally wrong with regards to her son, at least biologically, she simply couldn't help herself!

This amazing man, whose power was far beyond anything she'd ever known, was…so gentle. He was so pure-hearted, and he was so willing, and ready, to forgive her, despite all she had done. And then there was his thoughtfulness towards her! Even in her broken spirits, he still lifted them! Even after telling her the hardest truths about herself she knew she would ever hear, he was still so gentle and careful with her. He didn't take advantage; he simply cared. And then, on top of that, taking her on this spectacular midnight flight, not because he wanted to show off, but because he knew she would be dazzled by it – never had she known or even heard of a man with such a spirit of…loving generosity!

She felt him slow down as they approached the balcony, and after a few seconds, he landed softly. He placed her gently on her feet, her arms still wrapped around his neck, and her eyes glued to him in wide-eyed wonder. He slowly smiled at her, causing her to blink and return to her senses.

She then stared back at him and asked breathlessly, "Why?"

Naruto smiled with a raised eyebrow, "Why what?"

"Why did you…give me such an amazing gift by…flying me around like that? I certainly didn't do anything to deserve something as wonderful as that…so…why?"

"Why not?" Naruto asked back in response before continuing, "It was within my capability, and I knew that you would like it and appreciate it, so why wouldn't I want to do that for you?"

Kushina just shook her head in utter disbelief. This man had just given her the single most amazing gift she would likely ever receive in her lifetime, and he was acting like it was no big deal! Looking into his eyes once more, she saw the compassionate warmth and affection that they radiated, even through the power that was quite evident in them.

She gulped and swallowed before blurting out, "I don't care if you **are** my son!"

Without wasting any further time, she slammed her lips into his, forcing her tongue into his mouth much the same way Mikoto had done when they first arrived. Naruto's eyes went just as wide as they had when Mikoto had done the same, but this time, he managed to close his eyes and return the kiss being given to him. He snaked his arms around Kushina's lovely form as they shared their first kiss together.

After they broke for air, Naruto told her breathlessly, "Actually…I'm not your son, biologically, as…"

Kushina interrupted him with another passionate lip lock, breaking it again simply to say, "I still don't care."

She separated from him and took his hand, leading him back into the suite and into her bedroom. She closed the door and looked him straight in the eye with a smile on her face.

"You'll be sleeping in here with me, tonight, and if the others have no objection, for the rest of this trip as well," she told him with a mischievous smile, leaving no room for debate.

Feeling quite tired all of a sudden, he simply responded, "Well, yes, ma'am."

Both of them stripped out of everything except their undergarments and got into the bed. Naruto fell asleep while holding Kushina, who was leaning into his side with one leg over his own, her head resting on his chest. Kushina now shared Naruto's contented, peaceful smile as they both gave in to blissful slumber.

END

** I'D LIKE TO THANK NCPFAN FOR ALL THE HELP HE HAS DONE REGARDING THIS CHAPTER


	7. Blonde Schemes

Namikagure, ch.7

AN- I'd like to say to Fanreader that ki is the physical part of chakra, so anyone could learn it. Naruto didn't gain it form the death god, the only thing the death god did was rearrange his genetics so that his sayain blood was more dominant.

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DRAGON BALL Z

**Chapter 7: Blonde Schemes **

Mikoto and Tsunade both emerged from their respective bedrooms just a few minutes after seven o'clock the next morning. The sun was shining through the balcony window casting the room in pastel orange light that was quickly turning into bright yellow as it rose higher into the sky. Both of them looked around and noticed that Naruto was not on the couch. Mikoto knew him to be an early riser and figured that he was likely either out training (she hoped not – this was supposed to be a vacation, after all) or maybe just taking an early morning walk. Tsunade also was not concerned as to the whereabouts of their male companion, as she guessed that he would be back soon enough.

Noticing that Kushina wasn't in the living room and that her bedroom door was closed, they both found themselves somewhat surprised that their redheaded friend was still asleep. Kushina was usually an earlier riser than the two of them, and she would usually have hot tea ready for them all by now, likely with breakfast on the way if it was her turn to cook. Mikoto decided to quietly knock on Kushina's door and open it just enough to take a quick glance inside…only to be stunned by what she saw!

She snapped around to Tsunade and gestured her to approach very quickly and abruptly. Tsunade, now genuinely curious, did as requested and peered inside the room. Her eyes went wide at what she saw.

There, in Kushina's bed, were Kushina and Naruto, with Naruto sleeping on his back and an arm around Kushina, while Kushina was leaned into his side with one leg draped over both of his. From what the two stunned women could see, neither Naruto nor Kushina was wearing anything from at least the waist up! But on top of that, Naruto had blond hair instead of his usual black! Only his whisker marks and the distinctive shape of his face told the Mikoto and Tsunade that it was indeed Naruto who was in that bed.

"Good morning!" Tsunade sang out somewhat loudly, causing both Naruto and Kushina to groan as they woke up.

Naruto flinched as the light from the sun hurt his eyes. He sat up and grumbled out, "Is it morning, already?"

"I guess so, Naru-kun," Kushina groaned out in response as she sat up as well, her large, shapely breasts jiggling slightly as she did. She looked down and seemed to notice that she didn't have a bra or any other piece of clothing covering her top.

"Hmm…guess I must have taken it off in my sleep or something," she commented sleepily.

Naruto glanced at her and followed her gaze to her naked chest, before smiling and commenting just as groggily, "You should sleep like that more often, Kushi-chan. You look great."

Kushina smiled at Naruto and gently kissed his lips, "Thank you, honey. I think I will from now on, especially for you."

Naruto's smile widened as he directed it right at her. He slowly brought a hand up to one of her breasts and leaned in to kiss her before he was interrupted by the sound of a cough. He turned to see Mikoto and Tsunade at the door.

It was Mikoto who spoke up, "Well, as interesting as this little show is, we would like to get our day started, so…Kushina, could you please get up and make us some of that wonderful tea you always make?"

Kushina nodded, "Sure, no problem…" before turning back to Naruto and kissing him once more, showing no embarrassment or shame whatsoever, "…I'll see you out there in a little while, okay?"

"Okay," Naruto offered with a smile. Kushina then got up, threw a robe on, and left the room to proceed with brewing their tea and leaving Naruto to shower and freshen up for the day.

* * *

Naruto, Kushina, Mikoto, and Haku were currently in the living room area of their suite, just making small talk while waking up. As promised by Naruto, Haku was brought over to their suite so she could get to know the three women that Naruto was spending time with. Mikoto was having fun teasing Naruto and Kushina about being caught in bed together, despite their objections that all they did was sleep, in the literal sense of the word. Both Mikoto and Tsunade couldn't get over just how great Naruto looked with golden blond hair and those brilliant glowing bluish-green eyes. It was only by the whisker marks on his face that they could tell it was Naruto, as his tail was underneath the bed covers. They had been at this for about half an hour before Tsunade came striding out of her room with purpose.

"You," Tsunade pointed at Naruto, "Come with me…right now."

"Say what?" Naruto responded somewhat dumbly.

Tsunade sashayed over to him with a mischievous smile as she repeated each word slowly while pointing her finger at Naruto with each utterance, "Come…with…me…right…now."

"Umm…well, err…okay," he responded somewhat warily.

"Good, then," Tsunade smiled sweetly at him with her eyes closed, "It's settled. You're taking me out to breakfast, and I'm going to share a proposal with you."

"I'm not gonna regret this, am I? Most surprises I've ever gotten in my lifetime really haven't been pleasant ones."

Kushina flinched slightly at that, which didn't go unnoticed by the others, including Naruto.

Just as he was about to apologize to Kushina, Tsunade answered him in a tone that was more reassuring, "Naruto-kun, I assure you that I don't have any unpleasant surprises in store for you. In fact, I believe you'll really like what I have in mind. Just trust me, okay?"

Naruto considered her answer for a moment before nodding and allowing Tsunade to lead him out.

Tsunade turned to Kushina, Mikoto and Haku and told them, "And don't worry, girls: what I have in mind, I believe will make everybody involved happy, and that includes the three of you."

Tsunade closed the door behind her and Naruto once she had led him out of the suite. After leading him out of the inn, they made their way to a small, quiet diner to get away from the bustle of the inn's common room. They did love the familial feel of the inn's common room, but it would be far too loud for the kind of conversation that Tsunade had in mind.

Once their orders had been taken and they had eaten a satisfying meal, Tsunade paid the bill and got to the point of her taking him out of the room, "Naru-kun, I've been thinking about your little dilemma over not having any hobbies or likes apart from fighting or training, and I believe I have come up with a solution."

"Okay, what's your solution?" Naruto asked cheerfully, now genuinely curious.

"Well, I've noticed that you've got at least three women who want to be with you, and a possible fourth on the way – that possible fourth would be my niece Shizune, by the way; she's become rather smitten with you just over the content of your writings to us alone…" she paused before adding teasingly, "…and while you seem to be a fantastic kisser…" her smile dropped and became more genuine once again, "…I would guess that your dating skills might be close to non-existent, for lack of opportunity to learn any or put them to use? Am I right?"

Naruto blushed in mild embarrassment before nodding slowly in agreement with her.

She smiled warmly and understandingly, "Please don't be embarrassed, Naruto-kun. It's not your fault, and herein lies my proposal: I would like to personally give you some special one-on-one coaching on how to date and court a lady properly. This coaching will all be hands-on, with you taking me on a series of different dates. This will give us a variety of activities to try, and we can see what it is you like doing. And while doing this, you'll learn how to treat a lady with such poise and class that you'll likely have any woman you want eating out of your hand."

Tsunade leaned forward with a playful smile and asked, "So…what do you say? Wanna date me?"

"I'm…not opposed to the idea," Naruto answered, considering her offer, "…but, why would a woman such as you want to date a man such as myself?"

"And just what's wrong with you that I wouldn't, hmm?"

"Nothing, really. It's just that…you've certainly got a lot more going for you than I do…" Tsunade couldn't help the blush and the smile that crossed her face at such a genuine compliment, "…so I guess it's just hard for me to see what a lady of your…caliber and pedigree…would want with a guy who spends most of his time either training by himself or on the road, hunting and foraging for most of his meals."

"Naruto-kun," Tsunade explained to him in a more sober tone, "You have so much more to offer than you know. If you didn't you certainly wouldn't have the affections of a woman such as Mikoto Uchiha. Haku also seems like a lovely young lady who certainly wouldn't grace just anyone with the degree of attention that she gives to you. And then there's Kushina: there would be a certain social stigma to her establishing a romantic relationship with you, but she sees a man of such worth in you that she'll risk it without a second thought just for the chance to have you. You're insanely brilliant, and you're incredibly powerful on top of that."

Tsunade moved from her seat across from him into the seat next to him at their table, "And you don't lack as much culture as you're letting on – you just don't know what your personal likes and dislikes are yet, because you've never really had a chance to be exposed to civilized life. This is our chance to expose you to more of it."

Tsunade placed her hand over Naruto's as she continued giving him her motives behind her solution, "It also gives me a chance to truly get to know you in a very unique and intimate way, which is why I am actually here, in the first place. Then, there's also the satisfaction of knowing that I'm showing you how to give Mikoto, Kushina and Haku the time of their lives on every romantic evening you plan for them."

After this, Tsunade stood up, not letting go of Naruto's hand and gently pulling to prompt him to follow her out. After they had exited the diner, Tsunade took Naruto's arm in both her own and gave him her final reason, "And just for me – I haven't been on a date worth remembering in decades, and I've certainly never been on the arm of a man who is as ruggedly gorgeous as you are," she finished while rubbing his arm between her magnificent breasts, bringing a dark flush to his cheeks.

"So, I'll ask you again – wanna date me?" Tsunade asked, this time through half-lidded eyes, knowing that Naruto would be more likely to say yes to a sultry woman.

Naruto simply smiled, "You know what? It sounds like fun. Why not? Let's do it."

"Wonderful!" Tsunade exclaimed, leaning towards him to kiss him on the cheek, "Our first date will be tonight. I'll make the arrangements, and then I'll teach you how to make said arrangements. We'll start off tonight with something…somewhat simple: Dinner at a nice restaurant and…a nice romantic walk along the beach at sunset and into the night. How does that sound?"

"It's all new to me, so I'll look forward to it," he answered honestly.

The two of them simply continued back to the inn, smiling and laughing with each other while just talking about whatever came to mind. They both realized that even though this was a purely educational situation for Naruto, they actually almost felt like a real couple.

* * *

It had been almost two years since Naomi was named Heir of the Clan in place of the trash. Life had not gone as she had expected it to in the time since. When before she would always get smiles and friendly greetings, now she would hear people whispering about her, and a good number of those people would outright glare at her and her father. The glares were always worse when she was by herself.

Aside from that, there were many businesses in Konoha who simply refused her and her father service, citing that they either hated what the two of them had done to Nar…no, to him – she would not use his name, not even in her own mind – or they would simply lose too much business due to having clients who didn't appreciate what the Hokage did to his own family while preaching about the village being a family at the same time. One such place was her favorite restaurant: Ichiraku Ramen.

She had been limited to packaged ramen since Teuchi and Ayame had banned them from their establishment, and they were absolutely disgusting: they had none of that heavenly flavor or any other condiments that she was used to eating in her ramen when it was prepared properly. She couldn't depend on her mother's ramen since Kushina had disowned her and divorced her father. Her mother hadn't had anything to do with her ever since due to her hatred of her brother. Regardless of that, her mother wasn't even in the village right now. She couldn't depend on her father either since he was always in his office doing that blasted paperwork.

More and more businesses started closing their doors to the two of them as well: not just restaurants, but clothing stores, supermarkets, and even some shinobi supply stores! Every time she walked through the commercial district of the village, she noticed more and more large white signs hanging in clear view on most of the businesses there – the number of them had grown in the past couple of years. All the signs were carrying the same basic message, though worded somewhat more colorfully in some than others: "No service to Namikaze".

She couldn't believe so many people had reacted the same way, even though she knew that some of the people hated Naruto. The rest of the people actually liked the bastard, and that was something she just couldn't wrap her head around. In her opinion, he didn't do anything to gain their support; he was just unwanted trash.

_'ARGH! This is all that bastard's fault! If he hadn't been born, then none of this would have happened! Mom wouldn't look at me like I did something bad, the Ichirakus wouldn't have banned us, and Mom would still be living with Dad!_' she raged in her head while gritting her teeth in an angry grimace with balled up fists, still firmly believing that everything that had happened was by no fault of hers or her father.

At the moment, she was hungry and had left the house to get something to eat since she couldn't get ramen but she was damn sure not going to eat that processed shit called "ramen" in the Namikaze house pantry any longer. Her choices of restaurants that she could eat in were limited to four – none of the others would serve her and her father. The people that ran those businesses truly hated Naruto and were very vocal in their thoughts of him, even praising Naomi for helping in getting rid of the "demon scum".

She made her choice, and entered a restaurant where, as soon as she walked in, most of the staff there were bowing at her feet. In this place, she was always given the best table and a fifty percent discount on her tab. She ordered her meal and began eating, all the while waiters and even the manager were walking by her calling her "Naomi-sama" and telling her how she should keep up her strength so she could finish off the demon if he ever returned. Some of them even had the idiocy to tell her that once the demon was dead, her mother would be free of its control and she would have a happy family once again. It wasn't lost on her that most of the staff were pretty badly scarred – she had heard about what her mother did to people who badmouthed the trash, and from what she could see, she was grateful that she had never witnessed the acts that gave them such horrible disfigurements.

She couldn't actively enjoy being praised nowadays, since the praise that she once received from the entire village had now dwindled down to around one hundred people. She knew their praise was empty. She even knew that they were wrong. The bastard was no demon; he was just worthless trash. There probably wasn't an evil bone in his body, and she still felt the occasional pang of guilt when she reflected back on her hatred of him – which she would always squelch just as soon as she became aware of it. What hurt the most, though, was that she knew that her mother would never take her back – not so long as she hated him.

After she had finished eating, she decided on what to do next. She figured her perverted godfather was back at the compound waiting on her. He had finally gotten out of his body casts two months ago and was able to use the restroom without screaming and pissing blood. She sighed as she proceeded to head back to the clan compound in order to train with her godfather.

* * *

Naruto quickly realized that Tsunade wasn't kidding when she said she would teach him all of the ins and outs of dating and courting a lady properly. The lessons were also very hands-on. Shortly after they had returned from breakfast, she dragged the man around town all day and actually showed him how to do all of the things that she was teaching him.

He had no idea that so much could be involved in just properly preparing a date – choosing the type of restaurant to dine in depending on the person and the level of formality of the date, making advance reservations at a restaurant, choosing the seating inside the restaurant to optimize the view and the natural surroundings – Tsunade's lessons were quite involved. Despite this, however, Naruto was quite happy for the lessons, easily being able to see just how what she was teaching him would impress a woman.

Given that many of the restaurants were already booked solid, Naruto had also learned that the earlier reservations were made, the better. The restaurants were willing to break reservations to make room for their national hero, but Naruto would have none of that. He would not put out customers who could well have been waiting for weeks to eat at their establishments. With promises of future business, he declined their offers for preferential treatment to other customers, an act which thoroughly impressed Tsunade. His appeal to her, as well as her level of respect and esteem for him, all rose several notches at his humility.

After this came her lessons to him on proper dating attire, again, depending on several factors – the level of formality of the date, the activities that they would be engaging in, etc. She had taken him to several clothing outlets for this, and she also bought all of his clothes for him: three different suits, with several button-down shirts and ties that could go with each one, several nice but casual outfits, and even some nicer, scaled-up athletic wear for dates that would involve being a little more active. By the time they were done, Naruto had more clothes than he had ever owned in his life. Tsunade wouldn't even let him see that outfits that she bought for herself.

They got back at the inn at four o'clock, and Tsunade told him to get ready for their date considering their reservation was in three hours. She then immediately ran into their suite, gathered the other girls, and corralled them into her bedroom. Naruto could hear the squeals coming from said room in less than five seconds. He spent the extra time putting his clothes up in his and Kushina's shared closet, and cleaning himself up.

By six fifteen, Naruto was completely dressed and ready for his date. He wore a classic black and white suit with matching black wing-tip shoes. He went into the living room and sat on the loveseat, waiting for Tsuande to appear. He didn't have to wait long, as ten minutes later, her bedroom door opened to a sight that nearly made him choke.

'_Oh My Kami,_' he thought to himself before completely losing himself in the sight before him. There was Tsunade, wearing a form-fitting jungle green dress that resembled a single piece of linen which wrapped around her in several layers and ended very high on her thighs. The dress showed all of her curves, and accented her body in all the right places. Her shoulders and arms were bare, though her sensual legs were dressed in green stockings that likely ended just inside her dress. Her feet were adorned with matching jungle-green high-heeled sandals. Her fingernails and toenails were painted the same shade of green. When Naruto's gaze finally returned to her face, he saw that she was lightly made up, with just enough blush to add a very light tan to her face, though her eyes were dressed in green eye shadow, and her lips were adorned in a sultry jungle-green semi-gloss. Her hair was not styled in its usual twin ponytails, but instead flowed freely behind her back, following the movements of her head as she would turn it. While Naruto was mindlessly staring at Tsunade, she couldn't help but check him out as well.

'_Wow, he fills that suit out very nicely,_' was her only thought before she noticed his expression. His eyes were glazed over, his mouth was slightly agape, and he was about to start drooling. Tsunade smirked knowingly as she giggled to herself, thinking, '_It looks like nobody's home. Guess I did pretty good with this look._'

She sashayed her way over to her gaping date and with a sultry smile, gently closed his mouth for him and spoke up with a giggle, "Naruto, is something really going to have to fly in there before you learn to keep your mouth shut?"

"Err, hunh?" was his response before he blinked and shook his head, collecting himself, "Sorry Tsunade-chan, but you look…well…like a goddess of the earth or something, so how can I not stare?"

Tsunade blushed at his description of her while giving him a genuine grateful smile, "Ermm…why, thank you."

Naruto laughed sheepishly before blurting out quickly, "Anyway, why don't we go before we're late for our reservation at the restaurant?"

Tsunade nodded, the smile never leaving her face. She took Naruto's arm in both of her own and allowed him to lead her out the door.

* * *

Once they heard the front door close, Haku, Kushina and Mikoto all came out of Tsunade's room to sit in the living room and wait for Tsunami to finish preparing dinner. Tsunami had told them that she would be cooking her special seafood and crab stew, so they had decided that they would be eating dinner in the common room downstairs tonight.

As they thought about what they had seen and heard when Naruto and Tsunade first saw each other, blood-red blushes crossed all three of their faces. One collective thought went through their awe-filled, slightly perverted, and slightly jealous minds: '_Lucky bitch._'

There were a few moments of awkward silence in the room before Mikoto broke it, saying, "You know what, girls? We'll all get our chance, too. Tsunade's doing this for our benefit, too. Let's remember that."

Haku responded with a smile, "You're right, Mikoto. They're both doing this for us."

Kushina smiled with a silent nod as their jealousy faded. They would know what Tsunade was teaching Naruto soon enough, and they were all satisfied with that.

A playful gleam suddenly entered Kushina's eye as she remarked, "You have to admit, though…Naru-kun looks too cute when he's flustered like that, doesn't he?"

Haku and Mikoto laughed in agreement, both having to admit that Kushina's remark was all too true.

* * *

As they walked towards the restaurant, Tsunade entered "dating-coach" mode once more. Their lessons on date preparation had been covered well enough for one day, and now Tsunade was coaching him on how to properly treat a lady while on the date itself. Naruto learned many little things that would be considered gentlemanly: things such as bringing a date flowers or a small gift, offering her his arm to walk on, or even his hand to hold if she wished, and opening doors for her or pulling her chair out from under the table for her so that she could be seated.

Naruto and Tsunade eventually found themselves at the entrance of the restaurant where they had placed their reservation. Once they verified who they were to the Maitre D', they were quickly led to their table where Naruto pulled Tsunade's chair out for her, earning him a warm smile as she took her seat. The Maitre D' himself took their order and immediately whisked away to the kitchen to have it prepared. He appeared a few moments later with a pitcher of water, fruit juice and sake, and cups and saucers for each. He quickly poured each of them a glass or saucer of all three and made his way back to the kitchen to ensure that they got their meal as quickly as possible.

Tsunade raised her sake glass in Naruto's direction and proposed a toast to a wonderful, fun-filled evening filled with…many intriguing possibilities. Naruto blushed slightly at Tsunade's proposed toast, but raised his glass with her nonetheless, both of them emptying their sake saucers at the same time. Once they had finished, they fell into comfortable conversation while waiting for their dinner to arrive.

Tsunade told Naruto that under normal circumstances, it was considered polite and thoughtful for the gentleman to allow the lady most of the time to talk, while he would ask questions about her. Tonight, though, she also wanted to get to know him more, so she instead chose to ask more about him. He told her that he had developed a liking to teaching, which led to him telling her his plans for Wave.

She thought that Naruto wouldn't be able to surprise her anymore, but after hearing his plans to make Wave better by creating a new hidden village within Wave, she was completely astounded. Naruto told her that he planned on telling her and others at some point in the near future, depending on how this vacation turned out. Then he beseeched her not to tell anyone. After hearing his reasons for secrecy, she agreed.

Naruto got back to telling her more of his likes. He told her about his newly-discovered hobby of stargazing, along with how it came about. He talked about how to tell the differences between stars and planets, as well as how several of the stars would twinkle different colors, from red to blue to yellow to green to orange, all within less than a second. He had in fact told her about it with such enthusiasm that while she would have considered such an activity to be the pinnacle of boredom before, she was now intrigued to see what it was about such a pastime that captured Naruto's attention. The food came within half an hour and they ceased their talking for the moment.

After eating, they paid their bill and left, then decided to go for a walk. It was a little past sunset when they found a beach, the last vestiges of twilight still visible in the western sky while the eastern horizon was hidden in the black of the night. Both of them stopped just short of where the walkway ended to take in the beauty of Wave's nighttime beaches accompanied by the gentle, hissing of the waves crashing to the shore. Naruto then noticed that some of the stars were becoming visible.

"Tsunade-chan, look! Some of the stars are coming out. Don't they look amazing?" Naruto said with wonder in his voice as he watched more stars appear, pointing more and more of them out. As he pointed them out, she began to see what he was talking about at dinner! These were things that Tsunade had never noticed before; it was as if the night sky, which had been the same mundane, unnoticeable sky to her every single night of her life, had suddenly become a different place. Naruto had just shown her a whole new world.

"Yes…yes, it is," Tsunade replied breathlessly, with an equal amount of wonder in her voice. She continued to follow his finger as he pointed out more and more stars. She couldn't remember when they had found a smooth rock to sit on, or when she had found herself sitting back against him and leaning into his chest with his arms around her waist, or at least one arm was around her waist when he was pointing at stars, but before she knew it, two full hours had passed!

Tsunade turned her gaze back towards his face, catching his own gaze towards her at the same time. As they looked into each other's eyes, both of their pulses began to quicken. Both of them seemed to become aware of where their hands were, but before Naruto could move his hands, Tsunade slid her hands over his own, holding his arms in place. She swallowed unconsciously, followed by Naruto as he swallowed as well. Flushes began to creep across both of their faces as they found themselves moving their faces slowly closer to each other. Seconds passed, their faces drew closer until they could feel their breath on each other's faces.

Tsunade, realizing what was happening, turned her head away and commented quietly with just a hint of sadness, "We…should probably get back. It's getting late."

With a sad sigh, Naruto nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

Naruto then got to his feet and scooped Tsunade into a bridal carry to carry her back across the sand to more solid ground. Once they reached the walkway, he gently placed her back on her feet. They began to walk back to the inn slowly, an awkward silence permeating the air, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

'_I have to remember that this is just educational for me,_' Naruto thought to himself sadly, '_Tsunade's doing this for the other three and her niece; not for her._'

Tsunade's thoughts were taking her in a different direction, '_What is wrong with me? I know that I'm doing this mainly to show him how to date and treat a lady, but I had a chance to see if…no, I can't think that way; the idea is ridiculous. He's eighteen and I'm fifty!_'

She took a quick glance at him through the corner of her eye, '_Still, though…I think he wanted it as much as I did. I didn't think I'd find myself this confused…_' her thoughts began to change direction, '_…but on the other hand, I am teaching him how to date, and even though I'm more of a teacher, I am for all intents and purposes his girlfriend, too. Maybe I should…just take a chance and see what happens? Maybe luck will actually smile on me with this gamble?_'

Tsunade gathered her courage and stopped Naruto midstride. Naruto, feeling Tsunade stop, stopped as well and turned to her. Tsunade, without saying another word, moved in front of Naruto, looped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a warm, loving kiss. Naruto responded after a moment and pulled her into it, too, both of them acting on synchronized instincts as they opened their mouths and began softly and gently caressing each other's tongues. Tsunade could feel Naruto smiling as he kissed her, bringing a smile to her own face through her kiss as well.

They broke the kiss after several seconds, neither one taking their eyes off of the other, as Tsunade spoke up, "I'm sorry for turning away from you at the beach. I…" she looked downward for a moment before turning back up to him and finishing, "…listen, we…we agreed that we would date, right? That kind of makes you my boyfriend, and dating couples do things like kiss and such. So…are you comfortable with doing that with me?"

Naruto brought a gentle hand to her face and directed her gaze back towards his own. Seeing that she was looking him in the eye once more, he leaned in to kiss her once more, in much the same way that they had just finished kissing each other.

They pulled back once more, and this time it was Naruto who spoke, "Tsunade-chan, I…I care for you just like I care for the others. I appreciate everything you're doing for me, and yes, I'm quite comfortable with the idea of having a real dating relationship with you, even if it is just for…educational purposes. I mean, come on, I slept in the same bed with my half-naked mother last night and kissed her in front of you. The idea of being involved with you…really isn't that far-fetched when you think about that, is it?"

Tsunade could see the sincerity in his eyes. He wanted to fully engage in this, and she could also see that he wanted to make her happy – even if it was only for a little while. Thankful for his being so considerate, she immediately felt lighter.

She smiled and nodded, "You're right, Naru-kun. Let's enjoy this for all it's worth, okay?"

Naruto nodded in response with a smile of his own and kissed her once more before scooping her back into his arms and walking her back to the inn. The patrons in the common room sighted the pair of them the moment they walked through the front entrance, and the two of them were bombarded with cheers and catcalls all the way up the stairs. Once they reached the door to their suite, Naruto let Tsunade down.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening, Naru-kun. You're an excellent student," Tsunade praised.

"Thank you," he responded humbly.

"You know," Tsunade added, "Even though we've kind of already covered this, it's…often considered welcome to kiss your date good night once you return home if it went well and she wants you to."

Naruto smiled a little wider and kissed her once more. Once he pulled back, he opened the door and led her inside.

Once inside and the door was closed, they heard Kushina's voice ask, "Well?"

Both of them turned to look in her direction to see Kushina, Mikoto and Haku looking at the two of them with giddy smiles and mischievous gleams in their eyes.

"It was…quite nice," Tsunade answered vaguely before kissing Naruto in front of them. She then left for her room and glanced back at Naruto once more.

"Naru-kun, you did excellent, tonight. We'll go out again in two days, okay. I'll still do the planning, because I have an idea of what activities I want to introduce you to," she instructed before entering her room and closing her door.

Naruto turned his own gaze back to the others. Seeing that they were still anticipating details, he answered, "I'll tell you all about it later."

Naruto then went into Kushina's room and prepared to turn in for the night, leaving a trio of disappointed ladies in the living room.

* * *

Minato Namikaze was tired. More and more people would comment on how he just didn't look well. It had been almost two full years since his precious little Naomi was given the inheritance she deserved and he had finally flushed the waste that was his son out of his family and life. Things were supposed to be great after that; instead, it seemed to mark the beginning of the end – for his family, for his happiness…if things kept going as they were, then for his tenure as Hokage as well!

He reflected back on all of it as he had done many times in the past. It started with Kushina beating him and sterilizing him with one too many kicks to the groin. He'd learned that Naomi had been rendered infertile because that little bastard had hit her stomach way too hard. Kushina had left him and disowned Naomi after that, stating that she was a true Uzumaki, and true Uzumakis didn't abandon their own! She had further argued that Naomi was no Uzumaki because she didn't value anything that the Uzumaki Clan held dear. Of course, she had been referring to the waste because he was "family" – what a joke. Naruto had been of no use to him, as Naomi had the Kyuubi's power, so he wasn't worthy or deserving of being family. Still though, if Naomi was more powerful than him, then how was it that Naruto had been able to hit her hard enough to cause the degree of injuries he'd caused her – with only two solid hits at that?

Setting that aside, he continued thinking about how it all steadily got worse. He started losing the respect of his shinobi, and even many of the civilians. His daughter was now the target of the jeers and angry whispers that Naruto used to be subject to…and she wasn't handling it well. More and more of Konoha's business had closed their doors to him and Naomi ever since it all started with Teuchi Ichiraku. They were scared – scared of their Hokage, scared of what he would do to them after what he did to his own "flesh and blood", so they made sure that they kept him at a safe distance. They didn't think he had any reason to do to Naruto what he had done, and it somehow got around that he was just a sadist who would punish people simply because he didn't like them! How absurd! Of course, it didn't stop them from thinking that or acting on it, especially when Naruto's name always came back into the story. It enraged him – because he couldn't refute such an argument, and therefore, logic would completely justify their perspective!

The civilian council was ecstatic about the "demon" disappearing, but was a little disappointed that it couldn't be give the public execution it deserved. Let them think Naruto was a demon – if their idiocy served his purposes, who was he to argue? The Village Elders: Koharu, Homura, and Danzo were the most disappointed, since they couldn't turn the little "diamond in the rough," as they called him, into their perfect little weapon like they had originally planned. They weren't fools – they had seen what Minato hadn't seen, and Minato was regretting it, now. They saw Naruto's potential from very early on: his intellect, his power, and his sheer tenacity! They had said it without shame – Naruto would outshine Naomi in every conceivable way, but he hadn't listened. He loved his little girl too much to even be able to believe that, despite the fact that deep down, he knew it to be true.

So to make them happy, and to get Naruto out of his hair, they came up with the perfect plan. Minato would throw Naruto out of the house and out of the Clan, and the three of them would take him in and train him. They would have their weapon, and he would have the only child he really wanted – a child that would bring true glory to his name and his village. What Minato hadn't counted on was Naruto's knowledge of exactly what it meant when he was disinherited. He had run away almost immediately. How he had done it, he couldn't begin to guess, but Naruto had all but disappeared!

It was made worse when Kushina had wanted him to remain in the Clan compound, and she had actually gotten worried for him – to the point where she'd made a spectacle out of his disappearance and her desire to find him! The elders couldn't act as effectively in bringing Naruto in, because Kushina would surely have gotten word of it and would likely have started snooping around to get the whole story! All they could do in the end was to discreetly put a bounty on the brat's head with the condition that he be returned alive to Konoha…and not even the bounty hunters that had taken up the task could find any remote trace of him.

The Shinobi Council had lost a lot of respect for Minato because of his actions towards his only son. The original Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, once great friends with Minato, were all appalled by his decisions. They were even more appalled when they found out why Minato did what he did, and the events that led up to it all. They berated Minato – while in council with everyone else – that Minato was nothing more than a monster and a traitor, with the whole story about Naomi showing more potential being a situation that he had purposefully created by deliberately leaving Naruto out of family and clan training. They reminded him of what he had told them when he married Kushina: that he would be so proud when he became a father in the future. Minato had just glowered in cold fury without saying a word after being humiliated and shamed in such a public fashion.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio thought that this incident was well deserved on Minato, although they thought that it simply wasn't enough compared to what Minato had done and allowed to happen to his former son. Unfortunately, none of them had any connections to any important figures that could help in dealing more damage to their former friend, and they thought that no more damage would come Minato's way. They were pleasantly surprised at how nature just took its course within the village – Minato was reaping what he had sown with regards to his family, and now, whenever he preached about how the village was a family, it came back and bit him in the ass – usually in the form of some random villager shouting something like, "So you gonna kick us out, too?!" in the middle of his speeches.

While Minato made a mess of things with his own professional and personal life, the Shinobi Council got a new Clan out of it. After Kushina's divorce from Minato, she separated the Uzumaki-Namikaze clan into two clans: the Uzumaki and the Namikaze. Unfortunately, because of Naomi's devastating injuries to her person the Namikaze clan had no actual heir, while Kushina had named Naruto the Uzumaki Clan Heir, much to Minato and Naomi's ire.

Unfortunately for Minato and the Namikaze Clan, Kushina hated Minato's guts for his actions towards their once-united family, and she wouldn't even speak to Naomi, which hit the girl hard. He knew that there was no way of him patching things up with his ex-wife, since he would never take back anything that he had done to his former son. He then came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea, which would allow him to get Kushina back and their family reunited.

'_I'll just have someone discreetly find and kill that bastard, then Kushina is bound to forget about him and make our family whole once more_,' he thought, a mixture of stupidity and insanity poisoning his mind.

Even the part of his mind that was still rational was shouting back at him, '_You idiot! If you do that, Kushina will know exactly who was responsible, and all you'll do is make things even worse! You know better than to believe such an insane and stupid idea! If you want Kushina back, GIVE HER WHAT SHE WANTS!'_

It was with that last thought that Minato squelched that part of his mind that was still capable of reason. Frustrated, he would deal with his "Naruto problem" later. There were still plenty of other things that he needed to fix.

There was the issue of finding someone suitable to carry on as his Heir, since Naomi was unable to have children. There were techniques and forbidden fuinjutsu that he could use to essentially write his own DNA into another shinobi or kunoichi, making that person his genetic son or daughter – techniques that only he and Kushina knew. Minato then remembered a rather interesting bingo book entry that he came across four months ago. He opened his copy of the bingo book and flipped to page fifty-three:

_Name: Kakarot_

_Age: Unknown_

_Gender: Male_

_Affiliation: Unknown_

_Rank: B-class ninja_

_Abilities: Possesses a sword, so it is safe to assume that he knows kenjutsu, and is capable of chakra flow._

_Uses space-time ninjutsu to even greater effect than Konoha's Yellow Flash, and can use it in conjunction with his sword. Can also use some form of telekinesis. Other ninjutsu skills are unknown._

_Possesses abnormally high strength and speed_

_His skills in taijutsu are largely unknown; uses a previously undocumented style that seems to stress power and speed._

_His skills in genjutsu are unknown_

_His skills in fuinjutsu are unknown._

_Description: Wears a black full body suite complete with head mask, along with a black, short-sleeved haori that reaches his knees. Martial art boots, and arm/shin guards. Has a double-edged short sword on his back._

_Additional note: Hyuuga have tried to see underneath his mask to uncover his features, but they have not been able to succeed, suspected to have some kind of counter against Dojutsu users, unsure if this also affects the Sharingan._

_Approach with extreme caution._

After refreshing his memory of this Kakarot person, a plan began to form in his mind: he would get this young man to join Konoha, and under his thumb. If he did this, he could adopt the young man and perform the blood-relation fuinjutsu on him. Then his family line could continue as Kakarot would be placed under the CRA in his name, and Naomi might even have a husband worthy of her. It would make no difference that they would be genetic half-siblings; Naomi wouldn't give him any children, anyway.

He smiled darkly to himself as he started planning in earnest. Kakarot would be his son and heir…whether he wanted to be or not!

END

** I'D LIKE TO THANK NCPFAN FOR CONTINUOUS HELP REGARDING NAMIKAGURE


	8. The Fears and Resolve of True Love

Namikagure, ch.8

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DRAGON BALL Z

Author's note- to all the readers that have found their way to this story, enjoyed it, and have been waiting ever so patiently for the next chapter I would like to thank you and apologize for the long wait.

Although, I have a bit of bad news, no I am not abandoning this story. I'll be damned before I ever do that, just that since school has gotten back in I may not be able to update as often as I like, but I will do it whenever I can. Hopefully I won't be tied down too much.

Finally, I have a small favor to ask of any who read this chapter. I have been looking for a certain story, and for the life of me can't find it. It is at least two chapters long, on-going, rinnegan naruto, where he is banished and is told that his mother is possibly alive in uzu with his in coma father. He travels to uzu with yahiko, nagato, and konan. The second chapter ends with naruto getting knocked the shit out by kushina, who then realizes who she just attacked. she then starts to cry over him.

If you have any info that could lead me to finding this story(name, author, etc.) I'd appreciate it if you PM me or leave it as a side note in your review.

**Chapter 8: The Fears and Resolve of True Love**

Tsunade woke up much earlier than she had expected to. She felt energized –more energized than she had felt in a long time. Naruto was on her mind when she went to bed, and Naruto was the first thing that came to mind for her when she opened her eyes. She looked over at her alarm clock to see that the time was just past four o'clock in the morning. As wired as she now was, she knew that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep right now, so she decided to do something she hadn't done in years: take a nice pleasant walk in the quiet pre-dawn hours of the morning.

Once she had thrown her usual clothes on, she quietly made her way out of the room and down the stairs towards the inn's exit. Once out on the road, she just enjoyed taking in the chirping of crickets that was the signature of the late night and early morning, broken only by the croak of the occasional frog. Her mind almost instinctively went to work on thinking of more activities that she could expose her new boyfriend to and do with him.

A smile accompanied her thoughts, as she found that she was having fun just brainstorming about potential activities, '_We had dinner and a nice romantic sit-down on the beach last night. This time we should do something a little more involved. Maybe we could take in a play or a musical performance. Maybe there's a festival nearby that we could go to…what to do, what to do?_'

As she was thinking about this, her eye caught a rather colorful poster on the side of a store as the light of dawn began to illuminate the town. On the poster was a picture of a man and a woman who were dancing with each other. Reading the details on the poster, which turned out to be an advertisement, she suddenly knew what she and Naruto would do: they would attend Wave's Annual Harvest Ball, which would take place tomorrow night!

'_This is perfect! I did tell him that I would expose him to things he hasn't done before, and I'm certain he hasn't done anything like this yet. It'll even give me a chance to teach him how to dance,_' thought Tsunade with mischievous glee. She could already imagine Naruto balking at the idea of going to a dance – convincing him would actually be half the fun!

Excited over the prospect of her Naruto-kun taking her out to go dancing, she continued to stroll through the empty streets, grateful for the clarity of thought that the early-morning solitude provided her. She would return to the inn in a couple of hours to join everyone for breakfast before springing her plan on Naruto and the girls. Her contented smile took on a mischievous quality as she continued on her way.

* * *

Naruto was awakened by the light of the early morning sun as it had risen just high enough to change from orange to yellow. He felt sleepy but refreshed. A sleepy female moan caused his to look down towards his chest to see a wild mane of red splayed out across both sides of him. He then noticed the weight on his body, telling him that Kushina had apparently rolled on top of him sometime in the night. She was lying on top of him and using his body as a mattress, the thought of which actually brought a smile to his face. He smiled even more as he realized that his arms were around her, holding her in place.

She sleepily raised her head and gazed forward, staring through bleary eyes and a sleepy gape at Naruto. He noticed some drool from the corner of her mouth, but paid it no mind. He directed his smile at her for a few moments before her vision cleared and she slowly smiled back.

"Good morning, Kushi-chan," he greeted her softly and warmly.

"Good morning, Naru-kun," she greeted in kind, "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Mmm," she moaned as she nodded her head in the affirmative. She pulled her knees forward until she was straddled on him before she pushed herself forward, closing her eyes and kissing him. He closed his own eyes and pulled her closer into him as he returned the kiss. Naruto slid his hands down to Kushina's thighs and up over her silk-clad cheeks, kneading them a few times before continuing up her back. He noticed as he ran his hands across her back that she was once again bare from the waist up. This caused him to notice her bare nipples rubbing against the skin of his own naked chest. He smirked into the kiss as she used one arm to rub her back more firmly while running his other hand through her silken red locks, bringing a smile to Kushina that Naruto could feel through their kiss as well.

Kushina pulled away from him after a minute or so, smiling warmly as she told him softly, "I love you…my Naru-kun. I love you so much."

She laid herself back down, turning her head so that she could lay her cheek across his chest while resting her hands on the far side of each of his pectorals. She began to speak wistfully, "I don't even really know when I fell in love with you. What happened two nights ago – all that really did was make me realize what I'd been feeling for a long time, already."

"Hmm…" Naruto hummed out in acknowledgment, gently caressing Kushina's back while just listening to her.

She continued, "I remember the first few days after you'd left home, the point where I…really started getting worried about you. Before I was hospitalized from exhausting myself, the only thing I could think was, 'Kami, please let my baby boy be okay'. I couldn't think of anything else besides finding you and bringing you home…I mean a real home, where things were going to change."

She sighed before continuing, knowing that she still had Naruto's full attention by the way his touches felt against the bare skin of her back, "And as time went on, I just realized that…I didn't even know you. And that…that hurt me and it terrified me…" she heard Naruto sigh before she continued, "…I realized that I…I couldn't recall a time where I'd ever seen you smile. I had certainly never done anything to make you smile. I…I was willing to do whatever it took to find you. I would have gone to the ends of the earth to find you…just so I could at least try to…to bring a smile to your face."

She felt Naruto's hold on her tighten just a bit, indicating that he was trying to hold her just a little closer as he continued caressing her back.

She smiled at his gesture, "I thought to myself, 'I wonder if he has a nice smile. Would he ever smile at me? If he did, would it reach his eyes? How would I react to seeing his smile?'. I can't tell you how hard Tsunade had to struggle to keep me from going back out and trying all over again to deplete my chakra and my body in my efforts to find you…" she finished with a chuckle, bring one from Naruto as well.

Kushina continued after they both quieted down, "Mikoto, and Teuchi and Ayame – they had all told me what they all knew of you, and I realized then just how little I truly knew. I felt so many things, then – regret, remorse, I actually had to take some time to grieve – I just felt such…loss; it was almost as if a loved one had died – it was…that kind of loss. But there were other things I felt, too – I felt hope in your return, I felt excitement at…being able to see the things they talked about in you. I also felt…drawn in and attracted, even though I couldn't really make sense of it at the time. What they all told me – it made me want to get to know you…intimately, and closely – I wanted to touch your soul, and I wanted you to touch mine in return."

Kushina's hands began to rub his pecs as she continued to tell her story, "And then…when Asuma told us that he'd ran into you on his way back in from that mission, and we wrote our letters to you, I…was so eager to get a response back from you that…for those four days, I got almost no sleep at all. I couldn't stop thinking about getting some form of communication from you, and I… I couldn't stop thinking about you, either. The idea of…seeing you, touching you…connecting with you – it didn't leave me; it couldn't leave me even if I'd wanted it to."

She took a breath before speaking up once more, "I know that I had expressed a desire to essentially be the perfect mother to you in my first letter, but…I didn't want that, deep down. I wanted…this – what we have…right now, at this moment…but the idea of being the perfect mother to you was probably the closest I thought I'd ever be able to get to…my true heart's desire."

She slowly picked her head up and smiled gazing longingly at Naruto with all the love she felt for him, "Even now, it seems surreal that…we're in bed together the way a husband and wife would be…and I've never been happier. And seeing your smile…especially when it's directed at me…well, it makes me giddy, like having butterflies in my stomach."

Her smile became sad as she continued to gaze lovingly into Naruto's eyes, bringing a hand up to caress his face, "Can't we just stay like this forever? Just you and me, my love… my soulmate?"

Naruto returned her sad smile with a faraway one of his own, "That sounds wonderful…and that'll all come in time, I promise…" his smile morphed into one of amusement, "…but for now, we do need to eat, dress…pee…stuff like that."

Kushina signed in resignation, "Yeah, I suppose that's true. We'll still have plenty of moments like this, anyway."

Naruto nodded encouragingly, giving her a final peck on the lips as she rose from his body and stretched her arms upwards in a feline manner. Naruto couldn't help but appreciate the way her breasts stretched with her upper body but still managed to jut out. Naruto, feeling somewhat playful, reached his palms and placed them both on her breasts, keeping his hands open while rubbing and caressing her stretched mammaries, causing her to smile at him and then to bring her hands over his own. She used her hands to close his, wanting his hands to grip her breasts so he could knead them. She then teased him just a little by sitting back just a bit and grinding her panty-clad mound against his boxer-clad bulge, causing it to harden slightly.

Before their activities went too far for them to stop, she got out of bed and walked into the closet to put her robe on, "I'll go ahead and get breakfast started, then."

"See you out there, Hime," Naruto responded understandingly, bringing a mildly astonished smile to Kushina's face before she pranced out of the room.

* * *

Breakfast was just as lively as ever, at least for the girls. All four of them, including Haku, were chatting about girly stuff while Naruto just sat there at a loss and tried to listen as best he could, thinking that maybe he could glimpse a few tidbits about women and how to understand and treat them. Sadly, he came up with nothing. He had already finished breakfast and decided to excuse himself.

"Girls, I'll be downstairs, okay?" he informed them. Kushina looked at him and nodded with a smile. He left the room and made his way downstairs into the common area. Once he got down there, Inari came up to him.

"Hey, Naruto, you wanna come out back and play with me and my friends?" he asked with boyish excitement.

Naruto gave him a cheerful grin, "Sure! Sounds like fun!"

With that, Naruto followed Inari into the inn's backyard. His friends were all there, and they were getting ready to play touch football with Naruto as permanent QB.

* * *

"Hey, maybe, we should go grab poor Naruto," Mikoto suggested, "We made him sit through all of our girl talk, so let's go get him and do something fun."

The others all agreed and headed downstairs. When they reached the common room, Naruto was nowhere to be found. They all looked around for him, and when they didn't find him, Tsunade spoke out.

"Excuse me!" she called, "Does anyone know where Naruto is?!"

"Yeah, he's out back with the kids," one of the patrons, a dark-haired man with a moustache answered, pointing towards the back door with his thumb.

"Thanks!" Kushina answered on behalf of her group as they all went out to the backyard to see Naruto playing touch football with the kids.

Haku wore a knowing smile, which intrigued the other three. Curious, they all decided to sit and watch. They all seemed to be having the time of their lives, with Naruto's smile brightening up the whole field. When he saw the girls, he waved at them before returning his attention to the game. Apparently, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, because he turned around and looked to the position that was behind him and a little to the right.

The girls all followed his gaze to see a wheelchair-bound boy who couldn't have been older than seven. Naruto stopped the game for a moment before trotting over to the boy with a smile, the other kids following him, curious as to what he was going to say. Once he got to the boy, he squatted down and gave him a friendly smile.

"Hi there!" Naruto greeted him, "Haven't seen you around before. My name's Naruto. What's your name?"

"Ermm, H-hi, sir…" the boy began nervously, "…my name's Hosuke."

Naruto waved off the formality, "My friends all call me Naruto, Hosuke, and that's what you can call me, too, okay?"

"Okay, Naruto," the now-identified Hosuke replied.

"So, you wanna play some ball with us?" Naruto asked him.

Hosuke seemed downcast at that, "I can't…I can't move my legs. I-I was…born this way," at admitting this, he deflated and looked at the ground sadly.

"Well, maybe…" Naruto answered, though his smile hadn't wavered in the slightest, "…but I'll bet that with always wheeling yourself around, your arms have gotta be really strong! I'll bet you can really throw a football!"

Hosuke's spirits seemed to lift as he picked his head up and offered an encouraged smile, "Well, yeah, I can…" he seemed to become discouraged once more, "…but I can't stand up so I can't see over everyone to throw it, and I can't move quickly enough because I can't use my legs."

Naruto gave him a knowing smile, "Well, you can, now!"

Naruto then proceeded to lift the boy out of his wheelchair and place him on his shoulders, "Because I'm gonna be your legs today!"

The girls were all touched by what Naruto did for this child. Kushina gasped in happy surprise at Naruto's gesture towards the unfortunate Hosuke. She watched in fascination as the boy's face lit up as if he couldn't contain the happiness he felt at that moment. None of the men she knew in Konoha would have paid this child any special attention, and she had to admit to herself that she would never have thought to, either. But here Naruto was, giving this boy an experience that anyone else would take for granted but that he would never forget! She was moved to tears at Naruto's kindness to the boy.

They sat there for two full hours, Kushina's eyes never leaving the big blond man who had the young cripple on his shoulders. Once the center hiked the ball, Naruto would give Hosuke the ball to throw to the receivers. He hadn't been kidding when he said he could throw a football. He had actually thrown it a bit too hard for the other boys to catch at first and had to learn to hold back his force a bit when passing! Naruto gave him the whole football experience – what it felt like to pass, what it felt like to run, what it felt like to get tackled and hit the ground. Hosuke looked like he'd never been happier in his life! He even thought that getting banged up with the rest of the boys on the field was great!

Once all was said and done, Naruto returned an ecstatically happy Hosuke to his wheelchair.

"So, did you have fun, Hosuke?" he asked with a warm, friendly smile.

That moment hit Hosuke quite forcefully. As he processed what had just happened, he began to start crying. He threw himself forward and hugged Naruto with all his might. Naruto smiled as he understood the boy was crying because he was so happy and grateful for what Naruto did for him. He gently wrapped his arms around the boy, soothing him and telling him that it was okay to cry when happy. The other boys all came up and gave him pats on the back or the arm, all of them inviting him back out any time he wanted to come and wanting to be his friends.

Kushina couldn't help but think that Naruto would make a spectacular dad one day. Never had she seen an adult show such kindness to a child. Her thoughts suddenly began to travel down a tangent – she thought about how Naruto would treat their children in the future. She blushed at this thought, and surprisingly to her, it didn't scare her or unnerve her in the least.

After a moment's debate, she allowed herself to picture their possible future together. Her mind conjured up an image of Naruto playing with several red-haired and black-haired children, all sporting tails just like his, and sharing her and Naruto's features between them. She was sitting on a bench watching them all play, gazing longingly at them with all the love in the world. She was pregnant with another child. She would rub her belly and whisper sweet nothings to the developing little life growing inside of her. Naruto came over to do the same, with all of their children lining up to tell their newest sibling how much they all loved him or her. It was a scene that brought tears to her eyes.

She blinked as she was brought out of her daydream by Tsunade's voice, "Naruto, I'm coming over there. I'd like to have a look at Hosuke and see if I can't do anything for him."

"Sure, Tsu-chan. Come on over," he gestured to the woman, causing Hosuke to look over at her.

Tsunade approached him and smiled in a motherly fashion, "Hello, Hosuke. My name's Tsunade."

"Hello!" he greeted her much more cheerfully.

"Well, the reason I wanted to look at you is because I'm well-known as a doctor. I wanted to see if I could maybe help give you back your legs. Would you like that?"

"Yeah! Thank you!" he exclaimed, throwing herself at her and hugging her while laughing. She simply laughed and hugged him back.

As Tsunade started making plans and began to wheel the boy back into the inn, Kushina, Mikoto and Haku all came up to Naruto and talked to him about eating lunch. Naruto led them all back inside where Tsunade was talking to Kaiza about using a room on the ground floor so she could perform a full medical exam on Hosuke. The pair who seemed to be Hosuke's parents were thrilled at the idea of the Legendary Tsunade Senju examining and maybe being able to treat their son. He let Tsunade know where they were going to be so that she could join them when she was finished.

* * *

Naruto and the girls minus Tsunade were sitting in the barbecue pit waiting for their food to get here. Kushina had snatched up the seat beside Naruto without saying a word to the other two, though Haku and Mikoto both backed down, seeing a certain gleam in Kushina's eye. They would let her have her way for now. When she wasn't talking, she was just staring at Naruto with a wondrous, faraway gaze, a wistful smile upon her lips. Her hands were on his arm, rubbing his skin softly and tenderly. Naruto and the others didn't know why, but they could tell that it seemed important to Kushina to be allowed this moment and this interaction with him. Mikoto and Haku decided to excuse themselves and go to the ladies' room.

Once they had left, Naruto turned to Kushina and asked tactfully, "Everything okay? Not that I mind, but you're a little more…touchy/feely than even you usually are."

"I'm great, honey," she answered honestly as tears began to well into her eyes, "I just can't stop thinking about the wonderful things you did for that little boy. I've never seen someone be so kind to someone else."

Kushina bit her lip as she looked downward, before remembering what kind of mother she used to be. Her tears of sentiment became tears of guilt. Naruto frowned in confusion.

"I'm sorry…" Kushina began explaining herself, "…seeing you with that boy made me think about what an incredible father you'll be one day. I just…can't help but remember what a terrible mother I am…"

"Hey, that's enough," Naruto interrupted her softly, bringing his hand to her cheek and gently wiping tears away before resting it there, "I've forgiven you for that. You need to forgive yourself, now. I know that you would never be the kind of mother you were before. It happened, yes, I know – I was there, you know…" he chuckled before continuing, "…but I can tell that you've learned from your mistakes, and you'd never be that kind of mother ever again. You'd be completely different, and I know that you wouldn't give any of your children any less love than the rest of them. Okay?"

Kushina sniffled, "Okay. Thank you…for being so forgiving, and for being so patient with me. But please bear in mind that just like you said two nights ago – this is **my** burden to bear, and unlike you, I brought this burden on myself. Maybe I'll…learn to forgive myself one day, but in the meantime…" she trailed off for a few moments to try to find the words she wanted to use.

Naruto smiled understandingly and finished her thought for her, "In the meantime, you just need me to be patient and reassuring, right?"

She nodded with a sad smile, to which he responded by leaning in and kissing her. She closed her eyes and kissed him back for a few seconds before a cough interrupted them. They broke apart and turned to the source of the cough to see Tsunade there with a smirk on her face.

"Good to see you two getting along so well," she offered coyly.

"Err…yeah," Kushina sheepishly muttered with a giggle. Naruto just nodded with a smile. A few moments after that found Mikoto and Haku returning from the ladies' room. Once they were all seated again, they placed their orders and waited on their lunch.

"Well," Tsunade began excitedly, "I looked at Hosuke, and I think that I can help him!"

"Really?" Naruto asked immediately, leaning forward towards her.

"Yeah. What's going on with him is that part of his spinal column is being compressed by a slight excess of vertebral tissue – I can remove it and then handle the nerve damage, and then I can help him to develop the nerves in his lower extremities so that he can begin to flex the muscles and use them."

"You can do all that?" Naruto asked, surprised at Tsunade's degree of ability and skill.

"Oh, you don't know the wonders of medical ninjutsu, Naru-kun!" Tsunade answered with a knowing, teasing smile.

"Hmm…I guess I don't, at that," he answered, suddenly intrigued by the possibilities of medical ninjutsu.

Lunch came shortly after that, the meal being accompanied by animated and happy conversation between all of them. Haku had fit right in, acting and being treated like she'd always been a part of their little group of friends for who only knows how long. Tsunade shared the news about the dance with Naruto, which caused him to regard Tsunade somewhat dubiously, while the other girls almost squealed with delight. Naruto, upon seeing how excited the idea of being taken dancing had made all of them, happily acquiesced to Tsunade's plans, but made sure to inform her that he didn't know how to dance. Tsunade told him that she would give him all the instruction he would need over the next two days.

Mikoto at this point spoke up, "Tsunade, could you teach a few of Naruto's shadow clones how to perform the dance steps? I'm the only one of us who hasn't had a real chance to spend any time with him yet, and I'd like to do that for the rest of today and tonight."

Tsunade nodded understandingly, "Sure, that's fine. Naruto, when we leave here, make about twenty clones, okay? I'll make a few of my own so that we can cram as much dancing skill into that brain of yours between now and tomorrow night as we can."

"I can do that," he responded.

Mikoto then addressed the redhead of the group, "Kushina, do you mind if Naruto sleeps with me tonight?"

Kushina, however, wasn't quite as understanding as Tsunade was, as she asked with mild indignation, "Why?"

"Actually, Kushina," Tsunade chose to interject, "From Naruto's point of view, Mikoto is the one who has loved him the longest. I don't think she's being unreasonable, here, and I also think you should respect her wishes."

Kushina adopted a pouty frown and muttered, "Fine."

"Kushina, please," Mikoto pleaded with her friend, "Why shouldn't I be allowed time with him, both in bed and out of it?"

Kushina sighed with closed eyes, "You're right – I know that you deserve it, probably more than any of us. It's just that…" she paused to collect her thoughts, "…well, it's just that he and I are finally starting to get to really know each other, and…what we're building right now is just…it's so important and precious to me that I don't want to lose any momentum…"

"Kushi-hime," Naruto softly interrupted with a smile and a hand to her thigh, "Please don't feel that way. I treasure what we're experiencing as much as you do, and I promise you that we're not going to lose any speed over this. Are you worried I'll forget about you or something like that?"

Kushina pursed her lips together and nodded somewhat hesitantly. Naruto just smiled and reassured her, "Please trust me – I won't. I promise you that."

She still seemed to be wrestling with the idea a little bit, but she smiled and nodded some, "Thank you. I…I'm sorry, you two. I don't know why I reacted that way."

"It's okay, Kushi-chan," Naruto told her before anyone else could get a word in edgewise, "If you feel like this again, we can just talk it out, okay?"

She smiled a little wider, a more natural and more grateful smile this time, "Okay. Again, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Kushina," Mikoto answered this time, "But please remember that I'm not out to steal him from you, either. I've stood by you all this time, and I'll continue to stand by you. I wouldn't betray you like that."

"I know, Mikoto, and you're right. I'll try to…deal with my feelings better from now on."

Mikoto simply smiled weakly and nodded, knowing that there was more to Kushina's feelings than even Kushina herself probably knew. She sent a glance in Tsunade's and Haku's direction, which both women responded to with a knowing nod. Once they had finished and paid for their meal, Naruto made several shadow clones for Tsunade before he and Mikoto left hand-in-hand. Tsunade took the clones with her while Kushina and Haku decided to have a girls' day together, window shopping and just taking in the bustling town.

* * *

'_Everything is going according to plan, and Minato doesn't suspect a thing,_' thought Asuma Sarutobi, as he finished his daily training routine in the Senju Clan's private training grounds. He wouldn't be able to train with Tsunade, Kushina, or Mikoto for the foreseeable future, but with the hell that they'd been through for the past few months, they deserved the vacation that they were taking. They had given him plenty to work on and master for the next couple of months without learning anything new, anyway.

Asuma had always been an exemplary shinobi, but his growth in the past year and a half since he started his intensive training had been unprecedented! He knew that he would become much stronger training under three A-Rank/borderline-S-Rank ninja, but even he hadn't expected the degree of growth that he was experiencing. He could now keep up with them in just about every respect, probably being a low S-Rank ninja himself.. He knew that he could beat Kakashi Hatake in pretty short order, and he also sure he could probably best Jiraiya as well, right now, but he wasn't satisfied with that. He wouldn't be satisfied until he surpassed Minato Namikaze in power, skill, and in every way that counted as a ninja!

His taijutsu training, which was mostly under Tsunade, had improved by leaps and bounds. She had also helped him dramatically refine his chakra control, which had greatly improved not only the strength of his jutsu, but their precision as well. She even taught him the basics of her super-strength technique, which he was totally blown away that she would choose him of all people to pass the technique onto.

When possible, he would also enlist Might Guy's help. He had oddly enough expected an uphill battle from Guy in convincing him to coach Asuma, and had been pleasantly surprised by his immediate cooperation. Guy himself had been shouting out at the top of his lungs about how "unyouthful" the Hokage was for abandoning his son during his morning training – almost every single day – which had actually driven a wedge between him and his former eternal rival, Kakashi.

Guy, knowing that Naruto was a good kid even though he'd never had the chance to meet him personally, was delighted when Asuma had approached him about training and coaching. Guy of course, being much sharper than he let on, was able to deduce Asuma's motives, and this only served to seal the deal for him. So whenever Guy could, he and Asuma would meet on a public, but out-of-the-way training ground in order to keep the Hokage's suspicion at bay.

In addition to supplementing Tsunade's taijutsu training, Guy also helped him to refine what Tsunade had been teaching him so that Asuma could make better use of it given his speed, chakra nature, and even his incredible height and reach. Tsunade only stood at 5'3" in height, where Asuma was a giant at 6'5" – some of Tsunade's techniques simply weren't as effective because of Asuma's longer reach, and it was with areas such as this where Guy helped him to tweak the styles he was learning. Guy was also giving him speed and strength training, something that Tsunade, and even Kushina, both found themselves immensely grateful for. Of course, much to Asuma's chagrin and Tsunade's, Kushina's and Mikoto's amusement, this also had the unintended side-effect of making him Guy's new eternal rival!

His kenjutsu training, which Kushina supervised, had improved just as much if not more than his taijutsu. Kushina had taught him the basics of her whirlpool style kenjutsu, so he could create his own based of her style, and he was coming along with it quite well. She even helped him with his chakra flow techniques, which, with his wind nature, made them much more deadly.

He was able to take what he learned from both his taijutsu training and his kenjutsu training and put it to great use with his trench knives. Even though he was great with taijutsu and was only getting better, and while his kenjutsu skills were really taking off, it was his armed taijutsu that made him stand out more than anything else. Asuma was a wonder to behold when he fought with his trench knives! Nobody else in Konoha fought the way he did; his style was self-invented, and it had gotten him out of many a scrape where he might have died had he not developed it! His abilities with his trench knives would now easily put him into any Kage's league – assuming that he wasn't disarmed, which was why he was also striving to improve in every other area, as well.

While he didn't increase his use of genjutsu as much as he liked, he was able to improve his overall ability to dispel genjutsu, both with regards to shortening the time it took him and the level of genjutsu that he could dispel. He would've asked Kurenai Yuhi, who was Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress as well as his girlfriend, to help him, but he didn't want to directly involve her in his plans. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; he deeply cared for her and would trust her with his life! But he knew that if she were to get in the middle of a battle between two Kage-level shinobi, she would be critically injured, and likely killed! It was just that simple. On top of that, he certainly didn't want Namikaze to be able to use her as leverage against him should his plans get exposed. He had even discussed the matter with his coaches, and for now, it was decided that the fewer people that knew what he, Tsunade, Mikoto, and Kushina were planning, the better chance it had of success with the lowest chance of collateral damage. The only reason they allowed Guy's involvement was because the knew that Guy could more than handle himself if things were to escalate out of control.

His abilities in fuinjutsu, which Kushina also instructed him in, skyrocketed from just over beginner-level to high-journeyman level. Kushina frequently praised the speed at which he was picking up the art, especially since he didn't have so much as a drop of Uzumaki blood running through him! He was able to apply seals in the middle of battle now, and had a good grasp on seal arrays.

His most improved field, however, was his ninjutsu! Mikoto had been a slave driver, and because of this, he had been able to decrease the number of hand signs he needed for all of his jutsu, even so far as to eliminate the need for them on many of his techniques. At the same time, he was able to increase his proficiency with the current techniques that he has in his repertoire.

Before the women left on their vacation, they had given him their latest assessment. They told him that if he continued his training at the rate he was going, that he would easily be Kage-level around the time of the Chunin Exams, which excited him more than anything. Suddenly finding a new burst of energy at remembering his goal, he started his training over from the top, smiling all the while.

"Your training's really coming along, Asuma," the familiar female voice of the Senju Compound's sole remaining resident praised.

"Thanks, Shizune," he responded to the sweet-faced medic, who was smiling pleasantly and disarmingly, "I'm surprised you're here, though. Early shift?"

"Yeah, the staff at the hospital think I've been working a little too hard, lately, but with the others gone, well…" Shizune shrugged with a slight grimace, "…it's either work or sit here bored at home."

Asuma frowned at that, "How come? Why not head out on the town? You never know, you might just meet somebody…" he finished somewhat suggestively.

Shizune blushed at the implication, "Well, you see, I, err…" she paused as she consider how best to phrase her reasons, "…I'm kind of hoping that when Naruto comes back…" she trailed off and began poking her index fingers together with a shy smile.

Asuma got her meaning and finished her thought, "I gotcha. Don't worry, Shizune – I'll be sure to put in a good word for you with him when he comes back. Coming from me, it'll go a long way."

"Really? You'd do that?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course, I would. Besides, knowing him as well as I do, I think he'd really like a lady like you."

Touched, Shizune offered him a grateful smile, "Thank you, Asuma. That…really makes my day."

Asuma grinned and nodded, "No problem. Well, I gotta run. Date with Kurenai-chan tonight."

"Tell her I said 'hello'!"

"Will do," he replied as he waved to her while running out of the compound on his way back to his apartment.

* * *

Mikoto led Naruto through the streets of town with no real destination in mind. All she wanted was time with her Naruto. Of course, Naruto certainly wasn't complaining – when this trip had been proposed, it was Mikoto that he had been looking forward to seeing the most! Of the three, his relationship with her was the strongest, and ever since he met her, he'd had a bit of a crush on her.

Mikoto looked around before pointing to her left and exclaiming, "Over there!"

Naruto, in his confusion, raised an eyebrow and gazed in the direction the black-haired beauty was pointing, only to see what looked like a trail leading into a small wooded area. They walked into the woods, Mikoto leading him onto smaller and less-beaten pathways. Figuring that he would know what she was up to soon enough, he simply followed her lead without asking questions. After traversing about half a mile, the wooded area opened up, surprisingly into a small cove of rocks surrounding a small section of beach, only accessible either by that trail or by sea.

Once they were a few feet into the cove, Mikoto turned around and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck, resting her chin on his shoulder while Naruto, after getting over the initial surprise, wrapped his arms around her back, holding her in place as comfortably as he could.

"Kami, I've missed you, so," Mikoto said into his ear as just above a whisper, "I haven't been able to really tell you just how much with the others around. I just want to be alone with you for a while."

"I've missed you, too, my Miko-hime," Naruto responded just as softly, "Of all of you, I've been looking forward to seeing you the most."

Mikoto tightened her hold on him, while he in turn did the same.

"Naru-koi…" Mikoto addressed him, making no secret of her feelings for him as she began to ask him in a quivering voice, "…why didn't you at least come talk to me before you left?"

Naruto sighed sadly, knowing a question like this one would come sooner or later, "I'm truly sorry. I was…I was enraged at the time, and I…I just wasn't thinking clearly enough to be able to make that kind of a judgment call. I know that's not really an excuse, but…"

"It's okay, honey," Mikoto interrupted, "I just needed to hear your answer, and believe me, given what happened, I can understand how you weren't necessarily in the best frame of mind to make a choice that made everybody who cared for you at the time happy."

Naruto pulled back just enough so he could look into Mikoto's eyes. He saw that she had begun to shed tears, though her eyes and her smile were both filled with love. Naruto closed his eyes and leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers, taking in her scent. He felt her own head relax and lean against his own before he felt her lips on his. He returned her kiss, allowing her to pull back after a few seconds.

Naruto brought one of his arms underneath her legs and scooped her into a bridal carry before walking over to the rocks. He seated himself on a rock that was contoured in such a way that was conducive to sitting, while seating her in his lap side-saddle, while she was still facing him.

Mikoto began anew, her voice still quivering, "I would have made sure you were safe…in my home. The truth is that…I would have even shared my bed with you, then. My whole world had just fallen apart, and I know yours had, as well. I…" her voice broke "…I just wish we could have been there for each other, Naru-koi."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Mikoto, pulling her in and allowing her to cry her grief away into him. She cried into his shoulder, her own arms never having unwrapped themselves from around the back of his neck. As she continued to cry, Naruto caressed her back while strumming his fingers through her silky black tresses.

"I'm sorry, Miko-chan," Naruto expressed regretfully, "I truly am. I…I had no idea you were willing to go that far for me, especially at that time."

"I was," Mikoto replied, "It's been so hard there without you, honey. My eldest is a traitor to the village, my youngest wants nothing to do with me, and the rest of the village looks at me with suspicion because of my estrangement from Sasuke. Naruto, the only real joy I find these days comes from you – thoughts of you, plans that we make around you…ever since our vacation plans were finalized, only thoughts of spending time with you kept me looking and moving forward."

"Miko-chan, the same is true for me, too."

Mikoto pulled back and looked at him in mild surprise, "What?"

"It's true," he responded with a sad smile, "I love Haku, and I'm starting to fall in love with Kushina and Tsunade, but I've been in love with you…for years now. If I was told that the only way I could be happy was to take you and live on a remote island somewhere, and never have contact with any form of humanity or civilization ever again, I would have taken the offer without even thinking about it."

Mikoto gasped and smiled wide, tears once again rolling down her face.

Naruto continued, "Mikoto, you hold a special place in my heart that nobody else will ever have. Granted, I have other loves, now, but…you're my **first** love. But I had no idea that you've wanted me…ever since the night your husband was killed, and maybe even longer than that."

Mikoto nodded, affirming his guess, "It's true. Honestly, even if things hadn't happened the way they had, I would have left Fugaku anyway, and even when you were only eight or nine, I found myself daydreaming about what you'd look like once you got older…" she blushed as she added, "…although I do have to admit I didn't ever imagine you'd have golden blond hair. I think it's very sexy – it really suits you well, Koi."

Naruto looked at her in brief confusion before remembering a moment later, "Oh yeah, that's right, I'm in my Super Saiyan form right now."

Mikoto raised a dubious eyebrow, "How do you forget something that supposedly has such a drain on your energy?"

"Honestly, I don't even feel the drain anymore. I can stay in my base Super Saiyan form indefinitely – I've even been sleeping like this."

"Really?" Mikoto asked, to which Naruto nodded before Mikoto continued, catching what Naruto said, "Wait a minute…you said your 'base Super Saiyan form'. Does this mean there's a Super Saiyan form beyond this one?"

"Yeah…several, in fact. So far, the highest state I've reached is that of an ascended Super Saiyan, which I like to call 'Super Saiyan Two', while this form is Super Saiyan One. Part of my current training includes trying to get to Super Saiyan Three, but I can already tell I've got my work cut out for me."

Mikoto simply smiled at him, "I believe in you, Naruto-koi. I know you'll get there."

"Thanks, Miko-hime," Naruto responded with a grateful smile of his own.

"So," Mikoto began in an exaggeratedly extravagant manner, changing the subject, "Regale me with tales of your adventures and your deeds of derring-do!"

Naruto laughed warmly before fully indulging her, disclosing everything that he hadn't told her previously. She experienced every emotion she could have imagined feeling, from joy and ecstasy, to unbridled rage and fury; from heartache and sadness, to gut-wrenching terror. Naruto's flair for narration and storytelling literally put her into the tale in her own mind – Mikoto found herself regretting that she couldn't be a part of those previous adventures. His recounting of his experiences to her left her astonished and stunned.

"Have you ever thought about writing a book based on your own life story?" Mikoto asked both sincerely and earnestly, "Because your story is amazing, and you have such a flair for telling it that I could imagine myself there with you!"

"Well, I dunno…" he began a little nervously, not sure of how receptive he was to the idea.

"No, I really mean it," Mikoto pressed the issue, "You've seen things that are amazing; you've **done** things that are amazing. I think people would love to read of your adventures."

Naruto seemed to ponder it for a moment before answering in a non-committal fashion and changing the subject, "I guess we'll see. But for now, I want to know about your life, even the stuff from before I was born."

Mikoto didn't have the same talent for storytelling that Naruto did, but she told him of herself as best she could, even going so far as to reveal things that she'd never before told anyone. What stood out to him the most was when she told him of her heartfelt desire to have a daughter, a dream she'd never shared with anyone because she knew Fugaku only wanted sons. She added that her dreams of family now included at least one son and one daughter by Naruto. Beyond being a part of his plans and his dreams, she had no real dreams of her own – being an integral part of Naruto's life and world was the only thing she truly wanted.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised to learn that in her desire to somehow feel closer to him in his absence, she had deliberately gone out of her way to acquire a taste for ramen that rivaled his own! She told him of ramen-eating contests that she and Kushina started having with each other around once a month or so, which usually ended in a tie, though there were a few where Kushina won – she'd been eating ramen all her life, after all, whereas poor Mikoto just started her ramen obsession recently. This had apparently fueled further training for both of them so that they could burn the extra calories and keep their weight down.

The two of them spent the next several hours alone by themselves in that hidden little cove, just catching up and sharing the deepest things about themselves with each other. As the sun started getting lower in the sky, both of their stomachs began to rumble. Naruto suddenly got what he thought would be a brilliant idea about dinner for the two of them. He created a shadow clone to go to the inn and inform the girls that he and Mikoto would be returning home late tonight, while he took her into town to get some things.

* * *

While Naruto and Mikoto went off to spend their time together, and Tsunade had taken the clones to teach them all how to dance and to give them practice, Haku and Kushina went off together to have some girl time and bond further. They both went to a day spa in town to pamper themselves and relax, receiving hot-stone and aromatherapy massages, various hair and skin treatments, and detoxification time in a hot steam room. Once finished, they both went to the public bathhouse and bathed for a while. Seeing that the two of them were in a private enough setting, Haku seized the opportunity to address both Naruto's and her concerns.

"Kushina-chan?" she began.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Kushina frowned in confusion as she turned to the younger black-haired woman, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, ermm…I don't mean to offend or pry, but you seemed really bothered by the idea of Naruto-kun spending time with Mikoto-chan and not you…"

"Well, I don't feel jealous, if that's what you're implying," she interrupted, somewhat guardedly and defensively.

"That's not what I mean," Haku reassured her, raising her own hands in a calming gesture, "What I mean is that…the idea of being away from Naruto for even a short period of time…well, the best way I can put it is that it seemed to really frighten you?"

Kushina's frown became a thoughtful one at Haku's observation/question. It was true – the thought of being separated from her former son absolutely terrified her! On some level, she knew that she was being irrational and paranoid, but since she'd been hoping so badly for so long that she'd get the chance to be in his life after she had so heinously driven him away, she couldn't help but feel almost panicky about being separated from him. There were so many plaguing insecurities: what if he remembered more of the things she'd done to him and decided that she wasn't worth the risk of having his heart potentially broken again? As despicable as she was (at least in her own mind), there were so many better women out there for him than her, and what if he found women that were better for him and forgot all about her?

"You-" Kushina began nervously and quietly, "…you're right about that, Haku-chan. It…it does frighten me."

Kushina just stared off into the steam that was rising off the water for several seconds before turning back to Haku, "How much do you know about Naru-kun's history with me?"

"Only what he told me the night that you all checked into the inn: that you, Mikoto and Tsunade were from his home village and that at least one of you was a potential CRA candidate for him along with me. That's really it."

Kushina smiled nervously before adding, "Haku-chan, did you…well…did you know that I'm his mother?"

Haku blinked and shook her head as though she hadn't heard correctly, "Wait a minute…you're…his what?!"

"That's right. I'm the woman who birthed him, and I'm the woman who was responsible for driving him away from his home. Tsunade was supposed to be his godmother, but she never interacted with him at all – she just never made any room in her thoughts for him. Mikoto was the only one of us that Naruto knew cared for him."

"But, if you're his mother, then…why are you and he…" she sputtered, moving her hands and pointing her fingers this way and that.

Kushina decided to take pity on the shocked young woman and finish her question for her, "…sharing a bed? Well, it turns out that even though I did give birth to him, he and I aren't genetically related because of something that happened to him while he was still in my womb."

Haku seemed to settle down after this, but then Kushina dropped a rather large bombshell on her, "But honestly, even if he was my genetic son, it still wouldn't matter to me. I would still love him as you do, and I would still want to be his wife and build a family with him."

"Err…oh," Haku responded while maintaining her composure as best she could.

"But I think that we've gotten off topic," Kushina continued, "As far as my fear of being separated from him, well, I know that if he ever decided that he wanted to leave me, he'd be completely within his rights to do so after everything I did to him as a child. I guess I'm just…scared that he'll…find someone better and forget all about me, you know? Or maybe I'll do something that makes him remember all the horrid things I did, or even all of the things I didn't do, and he'll decide that staying with me just isn't worth it."

Haku couldn't help the sympathetic grimace that crossed her beautiful features, "Kushina-chan, even though you're just getting to know him again, I think you do know him better than that…"

"Do I, though?" Kushina interrupted, her fear causing her voice to rise in pitch and volume, "I've had to come to terms with the face that I know almost nothing about him. I really don't know what's going to happen…"

"Then I'll tell you what **I** know about him," Haku interrupted right back, "He'd never do that. Naruto is unswervingly loyal to those he loves, and the fact that he's giving you a chance to be in his life – especially after everything that's happened between the two of you – should show you that he does love you, and that he always has."

Kushina closed her eyes and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, "You're right, Haku-chan. And I can only hope that this fear I have will go away on its own."

She opened her eyes and smiled, "I'm glad that Naruto has you, though. And that you're here with me right now, Haku-chan."

Haku smiled back and took the redhead's hand under the water, "As a loved one of Naru-koi's, you're a loved one of mine, too, Kushina-chan. Isn't this what we sister-wives are supposed to do for each other?"

Kushina laughed in response as she squeezed Haku's hand gently, "Yeah, I suppose it is."

The two of them just spent the rest of their time getting to know each other, the topic of their favorite tailed young man being frequently revisited.

* * *

Mikoto found the idea of a romantic beachside picnic in that little cove to be a wonderful idea. Naruto had made a clone to return to the inn so he could inform the girls that he and Mikoto would be out for a while longer, and to not wait up for them. He knew that Tsunade was likely back there, as the clones he had created and sent with her had since dispelled and dumped the dance moves he'd learned and the muscle memory he'd acquired into his head.

She and Naruto then went back into town to do some shopping. Mikoto picked up a few odds and ends, and Naruto had picked up a large picnic blanket and some take-out from various places. Naruto also went and got four tiki torches so that they could enjoy their picnic dinner by "candlelight". Mikoto actually stopped him from buying the two of them any swimwear. When Naruto turned to her to ask her why, all he got in response was a sultry smirk.

They made their way back to the cove they had left a couple hours prior, arriving as the twilight sky was in the midst of morphing into a deep navy blue to the east, while still a shade above royal blue to the west of them. Naruto set the large blanket down on the sand, allowing Mikoto to sit, but Mikoto insisted on helping Naruto set the torches up. Naruto planted the tiki torches, one at each corner of the blanket, and Mikoto used a weak fire jutsu to light each one.

Both of them enjoyed their dinner, which was nothing more than a series of appetizers, ranging from dango, to pork balls, to skewers of teriyaki chicken, and even fish and vegetable kabobs. Naruto had even picked up some ramen, but to his surprise, Mikoto had been the pickier of the two regarding that, saying that it didn't compare to Teuchi's ramen. Naruto realized that from his perspective it had been so long since he'd eaten Teuchi's ramen that he had forgotten just how good it really was.

After dinner, Mikoto and Naruto were lying on the blanket, Mikoto with her back to Naruto while leaning into him and Naruto with a hand around her stomach, while strumming his fingers slowly through her beautiful, silken raven tresses. They were talking quietly about their dreams for the future, particularly the dreams that directly centered around the two of them. After a while, Naruto looked up at the stars and noticed that they were coming out in greater clarity – he could see them starting to twinkle and change color. He pointed this out to Mikoto much the same way he had with Tsunade the night prior. Mikoto found herself just as amazed as Tsunade was – even more so as she activated her Sharingan to enhance her vision and commit to permanent and perfect memory what she saw.

Mikoto suddenly gained a sparkle in her eyes that was a strange mixture of mischief and sensual love. At that moment, she jumped up, grabbed Naruto's hands and tugged. Naruto immediately rose to his feet in response and allowed Mikoto to pull him from the blanket towards the water. After pulling him a few feet, she let go of his hands, placed her own hands to the sides of the back of his head, and pulled herself into his face for an intense, passion-filled kiss. Naruto went with it and instantly started kissing her back with just as much passion and intensity while snaking his arms around her back and pulling her body into his own.

A few minutes later, they broke for air…or at least that's what Naruto thought. Mikoto took three quick steps back and yanked her summer dress over her head, revealing her lacy undergarments to reveal a black lace bra and panty set that complimented her generous curves immensely. She quickly unhooked her bra, freeing her jutting breasts from their confines and allowing their swell to expand, and just as quickly pulled down and stepped out of her panties. Once she'd done this, she pounced onto Naruto, knocking him to the ground while shoving her tongue into his mouth once more. This time, however, before Naruto could move to hold her, she quickly got up, ran backwards for three steps before turning around and making a beeline for the ocean, looking back at Naruto with a playful smile before reaching the water and diving in once she was thigh-deep in water.

Naruto realized that he had just been teased and played, and it had what he guessed was Mikoto's intended effect. Naruto couldn't help but be even more tantalized by her! He had risen to his feet as he saw her emerge through the surface of the waves, facing him. He watched as she rose to her feet slowly, the glistening water flowing down her skin, giving her an ethereal, almost otherworldly air. She smiled sultrily once more while using her head to beckon him to her. Naruto grinned, stripped out of his clothes almost as quickly as Mikoto had, and then…vanished? Before she could even get a good look at his naked body, too!

Before Mikoto could process her confusion, she felt two strong but gentle hands cup her breasts from behind. Gasping, she turned her head to see Naruto behind her. His smile was just as playful as hers had been, and now he was the one doing the teasing!

"How'd you do that?" she asked him, intrigued with his technique.

"It's called Instant Transmission. If I know where a place is, or I can sense something or someone that I want to get to, I can teleport there faster than the speed of light. So yeah…two can play this little teasing game, my beloved Miko-hime."

Mikoto's smile dropped from playful to genuine and warm as she slowly turned around and placed her arms around Naruto's neck. Naruto, likewise, had allowed his hands to simply slide around her body as she shifted so that they were now resting on her back. Mikoto gasped as Naruto fell back, pulling her with him, allowing himself to be immersed in the water while keeping Mikoto above its surface. He swam a few more yards out until it was just deep enough for him to reach the bottom with his feet. Mikoto was a little too short to be able to stand in the water, so she used his body to keep herself above water – which she realized was his intent.

She leaned in to kiss him once more. Naruto's lips met hers halfway before their mouths opened and their tongues began their sensual dance with each other. Naruto's hands once more moved to Mikoto's waist, gently but firmly holding her in place above the waves.

"I…love…you…my Naru…koi," Mikoto said softly to him between kisses.

"I love…you too…Miko…hime," Naruto replied, also between kisses.

**LEMON**

Mikoto removed one hand from behind his neck and lowered it into the water. She smiled and Naruto gasped when she found what she was feeling for – Naruto's manhood. In his shock, Naruto pulled out of the kiss, though he didn't let go of Mikoto's waist.

Mikoto's smile turned into a frown of confusion, "What's wrong, my love?"

Naruto didn't respond verbally, but Mikoto could see a hint of fear in his eyes. She knew it wasn't traumatic in nature, but she could still see it there. She understood after pondering what she was seeing for a few seconds.

"Naru-koi…is this something you've never done before?" Mikoto asked slowly and carefully, making sure to keep her tone calm and understanding.

Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head in the negative.

Mikoto brought the hand that was at his organ up to his face, brushing his cheek with her fingertips. When he opened his eyes at her touch, he saw a warm and understanding smile gracing her angelic features.

"If you're uncomfortable with this, we don't have to," she offered in an attempt to ease his burden.

"It isn't that I'm uncomfortable with the idea of doing it, but…well…I guess I just always pictured my first time being the night I got married, you know?"

Mikoto's understanding smile never changed, and she nodded in reply, "I do understand. But I'll offer you this – With your CRA, I already feel as if I'm married to you, and all a ceremony would do is make it official."

"I feel the same way, but…I dunno, there's something about giving the vows in front of witnesses in that moment that make it…special, you know? At least that's the way I see it."

Mikoto seemed saddened by his reluctance to couple with her, but at the same time she was in awe of and touched by the purity of his heart. An idea suddenly came to her, "Listen, Naruto-kun, if you want to be married first, then let's just give our vows to each other right here and now."

"Say what?"

"I'm serious. The gods themselves can be our witnesses."

"It's really not that si…" his eyes widened as he heard his closest companion and oldest mentor speak.

_"__**Hey Naruto, if you need a witness right here, I'll be the witness for you!"**_

Mikoto frowned in confusion at Naruto's sudden pause.

_'Goku, you're not serious, are you?'_

_"__**Sure, why not? She loves you, and you have a witness, so if that was your only objection, then you can marry her!"**_

Naruto blinked and shook his head, trying to make sense of what he was being goaded into doing. Deciding to simply go with it, he looked at Mikoto and told her, "Well, Goku's just agreed to be our witness."

"Err, Naru-koi…isn't Goku trapped inside your mind?"

"Well, yeah, but he can still see and hear what goes on out here…unless I cut the connection."

"So…does that mean…?" Mikoto began excitedly.

Naruto smiled and told her, "Mikoto Uchiha, I hereby promise to love you as my wife. I promise to love you with all my heart, body and soul, through the great times, through the rough times, through whatever happens. I promise to love, honor and cherish you as your husband. Will you accept my promise as it is right now?"

Mikoto began to cry as she grinned and nodded, "Yes! Naruto Uzumaki, I hereby promise to love you as the only husband that I'll ever have from now until my time on this earth ends. I'll love you with all that I am, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health. I promise to love, honor, and keep you faithfully as your wife. Do you accept me as I am and as I've promised?"

"I do!" Naruto exclaimed before leaning in to kiss her with all the passion he could muster, Mikoto not even hesitating to do the same.

_"And now you're married, at least in your hearts and in spirit! Naruto, now might be a good time to break the link…"_Goku suggested, getting a little antsy as Naruto and Mikoto began to start making progress.

Naruto cut the connection to Goku, but had slowed down his kissing to a more softly passionate pace, Mikoto matching him and adding to the softly romantic air that was suddenly being created. Mikoto brought her arms back up around Naruto's neck, but this time she also wrapped her legs around his midsection, linking her ankles together in the back and locking her in place around Naruto's body.

She moved to grab Naruto's hard shaft once again, and this time, he did not flinch, resist or pull away. She guided him to her waiting entrance, and once she sensed that his tip was in the right place, she lowered her floating body, allowing her canal to encase him completely. Both of them moaned and gasped in pleasure as Mikoto sank down, taking Naruto all the way to his hilt.

"Honey, how is this?" Mikoto asked with both joy and concern for his comfort level knowing that he was a virgin.

"This feels…incredible," he told her as he just enjoyed the sensation of being buried inside the woman he had just exchanged vows with.

"Great! Now, I'm going to start moving slowly, okay?" she asked him breathlessly, to which he nodded, his eyes beginning to glaze over.

Mikoto began to slowly move up and down the length of her "husband's" rod, using her elbows to prop her arms on his shoulders as her hands began to stroke his face and her fingers strummed through his hair. She continued this slow, up and down motion as she began to give Naruto soft kisses, her tongue slowly brushing against his as she taught him about passion in tenderness and subtlety.

Naruto's instincts began to take over as he began moving in sync with Mikoto while being careful to match her speed and not go too fast. She was amazed at how well he was following her cues and hints. Naruto then held her to him with one arm while his other arm circled around her front and began playing with her breasts gently and softly, bringing breathless gasps from his "wife".

"I love you," Mikoto began to whisper repeatedly to Naruto as she began to pick up speed, encouraging him to do the same. Naruto began to whisper the same words back to her as he picked up her cue and started moving faster himself. The two of the began gyrating with each other faster and faster, their whispered declarations of love becoming louder until they were loud cries of love, both of them moving steadily faster. Both of them yelled out their love for each other as they reached their first climax together, Mikoto coming to another orgasm almost immediately after coming down from the first at the feeling of Naruto's hot seed firing inside of her body.

Once the two of them were spent, Naruto carried her out of the water while she was still connected to him and brought her back to the blanket where he turned and allowed himself to drop onto his back, Mikoto softly landing on top of him. She separated from him and laid down at his side, her leg draped over his stomach and his pelvis.

"I love you, my beautiful Mikoto-hime," Naruto managed to get out between gasps as he pulled her into his side with the arm he wrapped around her.

"I love you so much, my Naru-koi," Mikoto replied breathlessly, though she had recovered her own breath much more quickly.

She laid a hand on his bare chest before leaning in and kissing the spot just outside where her hand was laying.

"My husband, my love…that just feels right to me, looking at you," Mikoto told him.

Naruto gave her a tired smile, "Me too, my angel. Me too."

**LEMON END**

They took a few moments to recover their energy. Mikoto, realizing that Naruto probably wasn't ready for children at this point yet, used a birth control jutsu to prevent herself from becoming pregnant. Once they were recovered, they got up, and Mikoto tried to recover her clothes…but Naruto was faster!

Naruto quickly sealed the blanket, the torches and their clothes into an empty scroll before making a shadow clone and making it henge into himself but clothed. The shadow clone then made his way to the inn so that he could deposit everything back into their room. Mikoto looked on in confusion and shock as she realized that the clone was making off with both their clothes. Naruto took advantage of her surprise by scooping her into a bridal carry and taking off in flight like a bullet out over the water and then upwards once they were about a mile out.

Like Kushina, Mikoto's breath was completely taken away by Naruto's ability to defy gravity and soar through the air like a falcon. Naruto carefully took her hand and released her from the bridal carry, allowing her to fly on his outstretched arm, holding his hand so that she wouldn't fall. The wondrous, ecstatic grin on her face brought a happy one to his own.

Naruto flew her through the night sky, descending slightly over certain uninhabited spots over the islands surrounding Wave Country. Mikoto drank it all in with spectacular amazement as Naruto guided her over high peaks lush with greenery and wild vegetation, to flying her by, and sometimes through, waterfalls that were descending from the high cliffs in these areas. Even through getting drenched again, Mikoto seemed to not notice that she was still as naked as the day she was born, but she idly thought that the feeling of the cool night breeze over all of her exposed skin as they flew through the air felt invigorating!

Naruto himself noted some of the vegetation and animal life that roamed these jungles and thought that many of the animals would make for a great meal – this would make a great hunting ground! He also noticed a lot of wild edible fruits and vegetables, as well as many strong herbs and wild spices that he could use to flavor his food with. This would be a great place to take the girls (or at least one of them) for another picnic, and what made it even better was that they would only need to bring drinks with them, since Naruto could hunt and forage their dinner right there!

Keeping that idea in the back of his mind, he returned his attention to the raven-haired angel whose hand he was holding and smiled lovingly at her. Mikoto was smiling back with just as much love, tears of joy flowing from her eyes. Naruto pulled her in and righted himself, bringing her into his body and pulling her into a searing, love-filled kiss, spinning the two of them as he ascended back into the sky. He then flew off towards the direction of home, knowing that it was nearing midnight and the girls were likely all in bed by now.

By the time he approached the inn, he had brought his precious Mikoto back into a bridal carry as he slowly descended, softly touching down upon the balcony after making sure that nobody apart from their room's other occupants could see them, and Naruto could sense that they were all asleep. Not putting her down, he opened the sliding glass door using one of his feet before stepping over the threshold and closing the door with his foot. Once inside, he made his way to Mikoto's bedroom – and he was thankful that the door was left ajar.

He pulled that door open with his foot and carried his new "wife" into her/their bedroom, going straight for the bed and gently laying her on it. He quickly went to the bedroom door and closed it before turning back to Mikoto, who was now laying on the bed in a very sultry, sexy position – she was on her side, with one leg bent forward at the hip, laying in front of the other, hiding her most intimate place while one arm was propping her up by the elbow while the other was using her finger to gesture him towards the bed.

With a sensual, love-filled smile, she said, "This is our wedding night, my husband. We're far from done."

Naruto smiled excitedly, putting up a silencing seal before jumping into bed with Mikoto and spending the rest of the night enjoying the spectacular delights offered by the first woman who'd given herself to him heart, body and soul.

END

** I'D LIKE TO THANK NCPFAN FOR CONTINUOUS HELP REGARDING NAMIKAGURE


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